PiS MPs want the disclosure of the contract for the sale of the plot for the CPK and the resignation of the head of KOWR

PiS MPs announced that they are starting parliamentary control of KOWR; They demand access to the documents regarding the sale of the plot for the construction of the CPK and the sale contract to be made public. In their opinion, KOWR “lied and cheated on public institutions”, and the current head of the institution, Henryk Smolarz, should resign.

It concerns the sale of a plot of land with an area of ​​160 ha in the town of Zabłotnia, through which the high-speed rail line from Warsaw to the CPK airport is to run. Wirtualna Polska wrote on Monday that in 2023 – shortly before PiS gave up power – the Ministry of Agriculture gave consent to the sale of a plot belonging to the National Support Center for Agriculture (KOWR) to the vice-president of the private company Dawtona, Piotr Wielgomas. According to WP, in 2023, but before the transaction, Dawton's company was visited by the then Minister of Agriculture, Robert Telus. The spokesman for the District Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw, Prosecutor Piotr Antoni Skiba, announced on Monday that an investigation had been initiated into the abuse of powers by public officials from the KOWR Branch in Warsaw on suspicion of acting in order to obtain financial gain. On Wednesday, wp.pl reported that until April 2024, KOWR lied to the Central Communication Port about the plot, and CPK waited a year and a half to notify the prosecutor's office.

On Wednesday morning, a press conference in front of the KOWR headquarters in Warsaw was organized by PiS MPs, who informed that they were starting a parliamentary inspection of the institution in order to obtain access to documents and correspondence between KOWR, the CPK company, the Ministry of Agriculture and Woda Polskie regarding the sold company.

According to Krzysztof Ciecióra, there are “many ambiguities” in the case. In his opinion, Prime Minister Donald Tusk misled public opinion by saying that prosecutorial proceedings were being conducted in the case. Meanwhile – as the PiS MP added – the investigation was initiated only on Monday, on the day the WP text was published.

He emphasized that the sales agreement should be public and should be published to dispel any doubts. “We would like to find out why, despite the eight audits that (government representative for CPK – note) Maciej Lasek boasted about, this matter has not been highlighted in any way,” he added.

Paweł Jabłoński assessed that for “strange reasons” KOWR did not exercise the contractual right to repurchase this plot and, as he recalled, in its first communications the center claimed that it had no such right.

According to Jan Kanthak, “KOWR, headed by Mr. Henryk Smolarz, lied and deceived public institutions, such as the Central Communication Port, by providing information that this plot was supposedly covered by various types of claims, which turned out to be a complete, complete lie.” The PiS MP also asked why Smolarz “discouraged public institutions from wanting to use this plot.”

During the next PiS conference, this time in front of the headquarters of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, members of this formation argued that Smolarz should resign. “Henryk Smolarz, a PSL politician and, in our opinion, the incompetent director of KOWR, should be dismissed today,” said Janusz Kowalski. He was echoed by Andrzej Śliwka, who said that the very fact that Smolarz, an MP, is the director of KOWR, which reports to the Minister of Agriculture, is an “absolute pathology”.

The National Support Center for Agriculture claims that it currently has no right to buy back the sold plot in Zabłotnia. According to Maciej Lasek, deputy minister of infrastructure, responsible for supervising the CPK, regaining the plot will be possible by way of expropriation when the investment location decision is required to be immediately enforceable. Lasek stipulated that this would involve the payment of compensation.

The owner of the plot, vice-president of Dawtona Piotr Wielgomas, wrote in a statement that KOWR may buy the plot at any time until December 2028, because such a right was reserved in the sales contract. At the same time, he emphasized that at the time of purchasing the plot, he was not aware that the property in Zabłotnia would be included in CPK's investment plans.

After Monday's publication of WP, by decision of PiS president Jarosław Kaczyński, the following MPs were suspended: Robert Telus, former head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Rafał Romanowski, former deputy head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and Waldemar Humięcki, former head of the National Support Center for Agriculture, as well as Jerzy Wal, former deputy director of the KOWR branch in Warsaw.

The spokesman for the District Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw, Prosecutor Piotr Antoni Skiba, announced on Monday that an investigation had been initiated into the abuse of powers by public officials from the KOWR Branch in Warsaw on suspicion of acting in order to obtain financial gain. Proc. Skiba said it was about expressing consent contrary to the applicable provisions regarding the Act on the CPK and the Act on the Management of State Property when transferring ownership of the Zabłotnia property, located between Baranów and Warsaw. A notification of suspicion of committing a crime was submitted by Centralny Port Komunikacyjny sp. z o. o

Wirtualna Polska described on Wednesday that since December 2023, KOWR had avoided responding to CPK's inquiries about the plot. According to the response from the Ministry of Infrastructure, Maciej Lasek was officially informed about the sale of land in Zabłotnia only on April 5, 2024. On July 30 this year – informs WP – the prosecutor's office received a notification submitted by the CPK management board regarding failure to fulfill duties by KOWR officials. The portal emphasizes that the prosecutor's office initiated proceedings on October 27, i.e. on the day the article was published.

The CPK Program is to include, among others: a central airport, located between Warsaw and Łódź, and a high-speed rail system. The new airport is to be initially adapted to handle 34 million passengers a year and designed in such a way that it can be flexibly expanded in the long term, in line with the needs and market development forecasts.

According to the adopted schedule, the construction of the CPK airport in the Baranów, Wiskitki and Teresin communes is to begin in 2026. In 2031, the airport is to obtain the necessary certifications, and in 2032 it is to be put into operation together with the first section of HSR in Poland, Warsaw – CPK – Łódź. The estimated investment cost until 2032 is PLN 131.7 billion. (PAP)

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