Poland plans new roads for Euro 2012

Poland’s Infrastructure Minister Cezary Grabarczyk has said in a news report that the country intends to spend US$ 55 billion on new road construction in the next five years in preparation for the Euro 2012 soccer championships.

Poland, which co-hosts the sporting tournament with Ukraine, wants to treble its current 1000 km of motorways and highways.

The minister said in the report more than 97 % of the 121 billion zlotys (US$ 55.05 billion) that Poland wants to spend on roads will come from European Union funds.

Mr Grabarczyk added that experienced Chinese construction companies would also appear in the Polish market.

“Talks with our Chinese partners are now going on," he added. "We also want to import from China some construction materials, especially cement, which our market will definitely be short of."

In the report Mr Grabarczyk said he intends to introduce a package of a specialist bills to overcome laws which many fear could hold up the construction projects.

Earlier this year Poland granted its former-Soviet bloc neighbours from outside the EU easier access to its labour market to ease the tightness.

Quite how large scale Chinese involvement in the project would tally with the prime minister's tough stance towards Beijing over Tibet remains unclear, the report stated.

Poland’s prime minister, Donald Tusk, was one of the first national leaders to announce he would not go to the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony.