Huge £25bn airport set to be largest in Europe with major city built around it
Poland will be taking the throne as the biggest - and busiest - airport in Europe with its expansion, the Solidarity Transport Hub, offering a smoother travel to major cities in the country and beyond
Warsaw Solidarity Airport in Poland has a confirmed year for its complete construction: 2032. It's set to welcome millions of passengers a year and is planning to overtake London Heathrow Airport and Dubai International Airport's size and capacity.
As reported by the Construction Briefing, it will be able to handle 40 million passengers per year. The airport will become the largest airport in the country and one of the largest in Europe, with plans to expand its capacity to 100 million passengers annually.
Located 24 miles outside Warsaw, the construction will begin in 2026, with the first phase of the construction opening up to the public by 2032. Interestingly, Warsaw Solidarity Airport was built to replace Warsaw Chopin Airport since it was reaching its capacity of 20 million passengers.
Not only that, the airport is planning to expand even more by adding two 3.8km runways, which will be 2.5km apart, to accommodate simultaneous take-offs and landings. A third runway is also being considered for the future.
A new gateway to Europe
The Centralny Port Komunikacyjny (CPK), also known as the Solidarity Transport Hub is a multi-billion euro project planned by the Polish government and other investors, involving building passenger terminal railway stations and transport hubs. It aims to make it much easier for locals and visitors to get around.
Opening its first phase in 2027, the central terminal will be used as a major transportation hub, which will be directly connected by air travel with a high-speed rail station and a regional bus terminal, providing a much more comfortable transfer between air, rail and road transport.
The CPK's 'Y-line' will be connected to a high-speed rail network, making it much faster and more convenient for people to travel between major cities in Poland, including Warsaw, Lódz, Wroclaw and Poznan with an average journey time of 40 minutes.
Over 1,800 km of high-speed rail lines are planned, connecting to over 10 major metropolitan areas. There are also other plans to turn it into an international transport hub with connections to Western Europe, the Baltics, and the Balkans.
Speaking to Notes from Poland, Foster + Partner's Grant Brooker explained: 'Our ambition is to create an accessible building that will improve the travel experience. We believe CPK will completely change the way people travel around Poland and will also become a new gateway to Europe and the rest of the world.'
Economic impact: +150,000 new jobs
The Solidarity Transport Hub isn't only an infrastructure project, but also a major economic initiative. The project is expected to create up to 150,000 new jobs, which will contribtue significantly to Poland's economy. According to the Solidarity Transport Hub's site, it will also provide exhibitions, conference facilities and offices.
The estimated cost of the Centralny Port Komunikacyjny project is approximately PLN 131.7 billion, which converted to British Pounds, is £25 billion. This also includes an additional £8 billion for airport construction.
With Poland's airline, LOT, being one of the biggest beneficiaries, the hub is expected to make Poland the new 'travel capital' in Europe by becoming a central gateway for international air travel and transfer points between East and West.
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