No debut of PKL on the stock exchange. PFR must verify investment plans for PLN 500 million

The entry of Polish Cable Railways (PKL) to the Stock Exchange was to provide over PLN 0.5 billion for investments, including the construction of a cable car to Kuźnice – according to PAP information. After canceling the debut, the program requires reassessment, said the Polish Development Fund (PFR).

PFR, which owns the cable cars, emphasizes that the goal remains the development of projects in the region, but the financing model based on the debut was the basis of the program. Therefore, its scope, schedule and capital sources are currently being analyzed, but there are no binding declarations at this stage – Maciej Buczkowski from the PFR press office explained to PAP.

At the end of January, the Polish Development Fund (PFR) announced the abandonment of plans to introduce PKL to the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The decision was made after the Podhale local governments opposed the company's debut. Information about the withdrawal from the plan was provided during a press conference in the Sejm with the participation of Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz.

As Buczkowski explained to PAP, entering the stock exchange was to provide financing for a long-term investment program in Podhale with a total value of over PLN 500 million.

The PFR representative noted that despite abandoning the stock exchange scenario, the fund's goal remains the development of investment projects in Podhale. However, he noted that the financing model based on the debut was the basis of the prepared program, which is why it now requires reassessment in terms of scope, schedule and sources of financing. At this stage, it is not possible to present binding declarations regarding the implementation of individual projects.

“PKL's intention, expressed during meetings with local government representatives, was to implement a long-term investment program in Podhale (…) constituting the next stage of the company's growth and contributing to increasing the attractiveness and development of the region itself,” he said.

He added that the investments assumed “long-term strengthening of the local economy, new and stable jobs, a larger number of orders for local companies and the development of tourist and service facilities.”

The program was to include, among others: modernization and development of ski infrastructure at Kasprowy Wierch, construction of a tourist service center in Kuźnice and development of infrastructure at the lower station of Gubałówka, including a cultural and educational center. The plan also envisaged the launch of ecological cable transport in Zakopane – in particular from the vicinity of the railway station or the Jana Pawła II roundabout to Kuźnice – and the construction of the Galicowa Grapa tourist and ski resort in Poronin.

PFR emphasizes that the stock exchange debut was supposed to be only a way to raise capital, and not a sale of the company or loss of ownership control. The fund emphasized that it wanted to ensure stable and long-term financing of the program, increase transparency and enable investors from the region to participate in the company's development.

“We conducted an open dialogue and presented specific, substantive proposals responding to the needs of the region. (…) Despite this, there was clear opposition from the local government. In such a situation, we decided that the lack of a common position did not create good conditions for the implementation of the issue and we refrained from further work,” Buczkowski pointed out.

PKL includes, among others: cable cars on Kasprowy Wierch, Gubałówka and Butorowy Wierch in Zakopane and ski resorts in Krynica-Zdrój, Szczawnica, Zawoja, Międzybrodzie Żywiecki, as well as a cable car over the dam in Solina. (PAP)

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