Budimex has been named the preferred contractor to carry out deep foundation works for the passenger terminal at Poland’s planned Centralny Port Komunikacyjny (CPK), the authority overseeing the Port Polska programme has announced.

The state-owned CPK launched the procurement for piling works in December and invited nine major contractors and consortia – all previously party to framework agreements – to bid. Six offers were submitted by the 20 February deadline, all reported to be within the project’s budget.

Budimex’s proposal, at roughly PLN 146M gross (£30M), was the lowest and judged most competitive. It is one of Poland’s largest construction firms and has experience on major infrastructure projects.

The awarded scope covers installation of more than 8,194 piles and columns, ranging between 9m and 30m in length. Combined, the ground-reinforcement works will extend to more than 140km of piling. The contract also includes construction of intermediate foundations that will form the base for the future terminal structure.

CPK expects the contract to be signed in June, with on-site works starting later this year. All piling activities are scheduled for completion by the end of 2027, with final acceptance planned in early 2028.

The decision is being cast by CPK as the transition of the Port Polska programme into its delivery phase.

Port Polska is the umbrella project to build a new transport hub between Warsaw and Łódź, combining a newly constructed airport with high-speed rail links and road connections. The airport is intended to open in stages, with initial capacity targets of 34M to 44M passengers a year and provision for later expansion.

The overall programme targets completion of key elements by 2032 and is expected to cost PLN 131bn (£26.7bn).

The piling contract is a visible early milestone but that the wider programme faces considerable technical, environmental and financing challenges. Building a major new airport and associated high‑speed rail network will require further large contracts, land preparation and complex coordination with regional planning and environmental approvals.

Meanwhile, CPK is also in the midst of choosing a contractor to construct the platform hall and tunnel for the railway station between the airport.

The station, including the platform hall, will be partially underground and have a volume exceeding 1.6Mm

. The tunnel will be approximately 6km long and varying in width from around 50m to 160m (as it will accommodate six tracks at the end, but 12 tracks alongside platforms in the station).

It has shortlisted four consortia, who will compete for the contract:

All four consortia have submitted applications for both parts of the contract, which has been divided into the eastern and central section of the tunnel (including the railway station and hub) and the western section of the tunnel (including track junctions).

The decision on the award of both contracts is expected in early 2027.

Last summer, CPK

on the project to act as both project management consultant and construction manager. An award announcement is expected shortly.