Construction investments in security

Fuel storage, air bases

Four of the investments have already been completed: 2 at the Air Base in Powidzou; 1 on the ground in Drawsk Pomerania and Świętszów. So far this has cost a full of PLN 2.4 billion. – In 2026, 4 more tasks will be launched and in the following years, with a lower priority. This year, he planned PLN 735 million to finance the construction of facilities for U.S. defence ministry units – said General Dariusz Mendral, head of the Armed Forces Support Inspectorate and the defence minister's lawyer for investment EDCA 2020. The most crucial investments include the creation of infrastructure for unloading U.S. transport aircraft at Wrocław–Strachowice Airport. Plans besides include the construction of facilities to find more U.S. unmanned workers in Mirosławec and a peculiar forces facility in Lublicz. Start of 55 EDCA 2020 projects over 5 years Mendrala considered it a success, considering that it takes up to 2 years to agree with institutions from outside the Atlantic to meet military-technical requirements for each investment.

– We are pleased that American soldiers in Poland are, and we hope that our next investments and political decisions made by president Donald Trump will lead to the strengthening of the presence of US troops in Poland," emphasised Deputy Minister Paweł Zalewski. Gen. Mendral recalled that infrastructure spending for Americans is strengthening the safety of the state, region and NATO. – It is actual that EDCA 2020's investments finance our budget, but the resulting facilities are assets of the State Treasury, co-used by the Polish Army with tiny exceptions to cryptographic protection and peculiar technologies. These investments are carried out by Polish companies in the majority of cases – said the head of the Armed Forces Support Office.

The Americans, by their own means, pay the construction – in agreement with the infrastructure managements – of any facilities, but these tasks represent a minority. Moreover, Poland began to apply for refinancing of EDCA 2020 investment from the safety Investment Programme (NSIP) funds. As the military officials stressed, there are already first successes in this area. This is possible due to the fact that facilities built for Americans at military and civilian airports (Wroclaw, Katowice, Kraków) in the event of a crisis or war could be utilized to adopt allied forces. However, the refund must not apply to all tasks carried out under the agreement with the USA, and Poland has no hope of recovering the full expenditure planned (i.e. PLN 12 billion). The request for a refund in the NATO forum requires the consent of the Americans, due to the fact that there are serious consequences: obtaining NSIP money results in the entry of an object covered by the subsidy into the NATO inventory, which can be utilized by the troops of all States of the North Atlantic Alliance.

When the Natov pipeline reaches Poland

In addition to financing investments for allies, parliamentarians besides discussed plans to bring to Poland the NATO fuel pipeline Central Europe Pipeline System (CEPT). Underground threads were built during the Cold War to service for fast and safe transportation of fuels. Members wanted to know, among others, erstwhile Polish and allied troops would be able to usage the fuel supplied by these pipelines in case of danger. Deputy Minister Paweł Zalewski assured that the consent of allies to grow CEPS is, but what will be its scope, which will run the investment, erstwhile it takes effect and how much it will cost, is unknown. “We are negotiating with Germany, who first request to carry the CEPS network to Odra so that we can further direct it to our fuel bases. The interministerial team, with the participation of representatives of key companies in the fuel industry, has developed a position for negotiations at the NATO Headquarters," said the deputy chief of the MON. He stressed that CEPS had to be a commercial-military project, which will work in peace, and it was crucial that companies, especially PKN Orlen, were included in it financially. “We want the expansion of CEPS to be financed as much as possible by NATO, due to the fact that it involves multi-billion-dollar expenses,” Zalewski added. – We have received money to start planning the improvement of the strategy to the east, while the full architecture of the improvement of CEPS is not yet established – he explained. The Deputy Minister hopes that by June of this year he will be able to persuade allies to finance issues and agenda the expansion of CEPS.