This article explains how the proposed extension would protect land needed for the Centralny Port Komunikacyjny project and affect its preparation.
A temporary regime would last longer
The government’s draft amendment to the Centralny Port Komunikacyjny law would extend from four years to eight the period for special rules applying to property management, spatial planning and investment delivery. The rules are introduced in a regulation issued under Article 28(1) of the CPK law, while their substance is set out in Article 29. This is not a new procurement route or an award of a contract. It is a land and planning mechanism that allows the state to preserve conditions for a planned infrastructure project while its preparation continues. The proposal has been published by the Government Plenipotentiary for CPK and has not yet become law.
Why the government says the change is needed
The draft’s Regulatory Impact Assessment says the amendment is intended to remove the risk of a gap where the regulation’s duration does not match the actual timetable for preparing or delivering an investment. Under the current arrangement, the special regime could expire before preparation is complete or construction begins. The assessment says that could allow land uses to change, actions to be taken that make the project harder to deliver, and the eventual cost of acquiring land to rise. The proposed extension is linked to later stages of the CPK investment programme and to what the assessment calls current delivery conditions and the real needs of the investment process.
What the regulation can do on affected land
The CPK law allows the government, by regulation, to identify municipalities or parts of municipalities where special rules will apply. Their stated purpose is to prepare the investment area and support social, economic and spatial development around the Centralny Port Komunikacyjny. Depending on the area, the regime covers property management, planning and development, investment delivery, the acquisition of property, or access to property for environmental research. In practical terms, the regulation is a form of advance land-use protection: it can restrict actions inconsistent with a site’s future purpose before the project reaches construction. Businesses considering land, development or works in an affected area would therefore need to account for the applicable regulation as well as ordinary planning rules.
The proposal sits alongside a wider transport programme
The CPK programme includes a central airport between Warsaw and Łódź and a high-speed rail system. The airport is initially designed to handle 34 million passengers a year and to be expandable as market needs and forecasts develop. In late June, CPK signed a contract worth about 146 million złoty with Budimex for the foundations of the passenger terminal. The airport is scheduled to obtain the necessary certifications in 2031 and open in 2032 with Poland’s first high-speed rail section, linking Warsaw, CPK and Łódź. The estimated cost of the investment through 2032 is 131.7 billion złoty, giving the proposed land protections a role in a programme extending beyond a single construction contract.
IN NUMBERS
The proposed change would lengthen the period in which CPK-related land and planning safeguards can operate, with the stated aim of keeping legal protection aligned with the project timetable. Its effect would depend on the amendment being adopted and on the separate regulations identifying the areas concerned.
Reported from rp.pl, 2026-09-19. The Tender Wire is published by Otnox.
