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Poland launches key stretch of north-south motorway

11.05.2023 23:30
Poland’s prime minister has opened a key stretch of the A1 motorway, which links the Baltic Sea coast in the north with the Czech border in the south, and said it will open up “totally new development opportunities” for the country.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki (centre) announces the completion of  the new A1 motorway linking Polands Baltic Sea coast in the north with the Czech border in the south, in the central Polish town of Kamieńsk, on Thursday, May 11, 2023.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki (centre) announces the completion of the new A1 motorway linking Poland's Baltic Sea coast in the north with the Czech border in the south, in the central Polish town of Kamieńsk, on Thursday, May 11, 2023.PAP/Marian Zubrzycki

Mateusz Morawiecki made the announcement at a news conference in central Poland on Thursday, state news agency PAP reported. 

He was accompanied by Infrastructure Minister Andrzej Adamczyk and Development and Technology Minister Waldemar Buda.

Meeting the media at an A1 interchange in the town of Kamieńsk, the prime minister said the new north-south motorway “creates new economic opportunities.” 

He stated: “This is extremely important, because such a road … boosts commercial options and opens up totally new development opportunities for Poland.”

According to Morawiecki, the completion of the A1 motorway “in a sense, opens up a perspective to the Three Seas region.”

He added: ”This is the new geopolitical dimension in the region that lies between the Black, Baltic and Adriatic Seas.”

From Baltic coast to Czech border in less than five hours

The prime minister said that the journey from the north to the south of Poland “used to be a nightmare,” with “terrible conditions and a lot of deadly accidents.” 

He stated that from now on, the journey from the Baltic coast to the Czech border “will take road travellers around five hours, including a stop for rest, and in compliance with road rules.”

Morawiecki told reporters that, besides building new expressways and highways, his government was also “spending unprecedented money on municipal and county roads,” thus investing in “the lifeblood of the economic organism called Poland.”

Last month, the Polish government launched a new stretch of the country's strategic north-south S7 expressway, which is designed to connect the Baltic port of Gdańsk with the southern city of Kraków, according to officials.

The Polish-led Three Seas Initiative aims to boost infrastructure, energy and business ties among 12 countries between the Baltic, Black and Adriatic Seas: Poland, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.   

(pm/gs)

Source: PAP, motofakty.pl