Ferrovial entra en la final por el AVE polaco tras descolgarse ACS y Acciona

Ferrovial has advanced to the final round for the AVE Polish project after ACS and Acciona were eliminated. The public company CPK Polska, responsible for Warsaw's new airport and train connections, has selected five out of eight international consortia to compete for the first high-speed train section. Ferrovial, led by Budimex, is participating alone in the bid for a 14-kilometer stretch between the airport nodes and the Bolimów locality.

The consortium will compete against four others comprised of Polish and Central European firms. CPK Polska excluded ACS (through its Polish subsidiary Polaqua) and Acciona (in partnership with Mostostal Warszawa, a Warsaw-listed construction company facing financial difficulties) from the competition. The winning contractor will design and build the section, which includes 55 complex structures like bridges, viaducts, drainage systems, and environmental barriers, along with 30 kilometers of road construction.

Poland's high-speed rail project, tied to the new Warsaw international airport, is a major endeavor with a global budget of over 30 billion euros, with nearly 18 billion euros allocated to more than 400 kilometers of high-speed rail. Ferrovial, through Budimex, is also bidding for a 13-kilometer stretch linking the airport to Kotowice.

These sections are part of a Y-shaped 480-kilometer rail line connecting Warsaw, Lodz, Poznan, and Breslavia, with trains capable of speeds up to 350 km/h. The Warsaw-Lodz section is set to open in 2032 with the new airport's inauguration, followed by a 2035 launch for passengers traveling via the Y-line to Poznan and Breslavia.

The Spanish presence in the Polish mega-project is significant. In September of the previous year, CPK announced the five consortia competing for the construction of a new international airport terminal, worth 5,000 million zlotys (approximately 1,100 million euros). Ferrovial, via Budimex, partnered with Strabag, while ACS, through Hochtief, joined forces with Polimex, the largest local construction firm.

CPK anticipates the terminal contract to be awarded by the end of 2026 or early 2027, with the main construction phase expected to conclude by 2031, followed by airport operations, testing, and certification in 2032. Ferrovial recently took on the groundwork for the terminal, a 34-million-euro contract.