Tusk government has no appetite to progress with CPK project, says Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary

Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary speaks during a media conference in Brussels, Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
By John Cody
3 Min Read

Donald Tusk’s liberal coalition government in Poland has no intention of continuing plans to deliver the state-of-the-art Central Communication Port (CPK) proposed by the previous conservative administration, Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary has claimed.

In an interview with the Polish news outlet wnp.pl, O’Leary, shared insights from a conversation with the Polish Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Paweł Gancarz regarding the CPK transport hub project and claimed the new government in Warsaw is scrapping the idea.

The Ryanair boss revealed his opposition to the CPK’s development, expressing satisfaction that the government under Prime Minister Donald Tusk seems to align with his perspective.

“It appears that the new government has a better and more future-oriented approach regarding local Modlin Airport north of Warsaw. There’s also no vision for creating the Central Communication Port,” O’Leary said.

“We’ve met with the deputy minister of infrastructure and I believe he is interested in the development of all airports in Poland,” he added.

O’Leary is pushing for the development of Modlin Airport located north of Warsaw, where Ryanair holds its regional base, indicating that the new management of Polish Airports (PPL) is expected to implement a new development plan for Modlin once the local elections conclude and the new regional authorities are re-elected. The Irish businessman hopes parts of this plan will materialize within the next year or two.

On Feb. 13 during a cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced his desire to “develop communication infrastructure, both aviation and rail,” noting that so far, 2.7 billion PLN (€630 million) has been spent on the CPK project without making a definitive statement about its future.

Meanwhile, President Andrzej Duda emphasized that it is of utmost importance for projects like the CPK to be realized.

The Central Communication Port, situated 37 km west of Warsaw and covering approximately 3,000 hectares, is envisioned as a major hub integrating air, rail, and road transport. The initial phase of the airport was expected to handle 40 million passengers annually.

The CPK project also includes rail investments, such as a station near the airport and national connections enabling travel between Warsaw and major Polish cities in no more than 2.5 hours.

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