POLAND: Airport, rail and road project promoter Centralny Port Komunikacyjny has signed a preliminary agreement to purchase a controlling stake in rail infrastructure contractor Torpol, to mitigate the risk of the lack of adequate contractor resources to implement its plans to build 2 000 km of proposed lines.
‘It is important that railway contractors are capable of implementing extensive investment programmes, have financial credibility and at the same time are competitive’, said Marcin Horała, Government Plenipotentiary for CPK, on January 25.
Subject to regulatory approval, CPK plans to acquire a 38% stake in Torpol from state-owned Towarzystwo Finansowe Silesia, which is currently the largest shareholder.
CPK said the transaction would be ‘conducted according to market standards’, and a financial feasibility analysis has produced a positive result.
CPK CEO Mikołaj Wild said the takeover of Torpol ‘does not mean that it will obtain contracts on a preferential basis’, but ’both parties can confidently invest in a long-term relationship based on trust’.
