The Ministers of Infrastructure of Poland and Ukraine and the Speaker of the Sejm Marek Kuchciński held an off-site meeting of the Sejm Infrastructure Committee in Krasiczyn (Subcarpathian region). The meeting discussed, among other things, the construction of the border crossing Malhowice-Nizankowice.

Speaker of the Sejm Marek Kuchcinski assured that he is happy with the initiative to build a new border crossing with Ukraine.

- This is a matter that should unite all of Europe. It is good that we are speeding up the construction of various forms of cooperation and connections in our part of Europe. The construction and expansion of road, air and rail border crossings are the foundation of cooperation. Thank you for this initiative. - he said.

According to Kuchcinski, Poland should support "the idea of connecting Kiev with Paris." "I also personally support this trans-European express with all my heart," he added.

Bogdan Rzonca, Chairman of the Infrastructure Committee, emphasized that without good road and rail infrastructure there are no good economic relations.

- There are several border crossings between Poland and Ukraine, but there are not enough of them, and certainly another crossing in Malhowice-Nizankowice is feasible. Both the Polish and Ukrainian sides are in favour of this crossing. The presence of both ministers on the committee proves that we do not want to talk in vain, only about some appeals or declarations, but about the necessity of building this crossing. - he added.

He noted that the planned crossing would consist of one building, where border services of both countries would check in travelers together.

"This will significantly reduce the cost of building the crossing and there is agreement on both sides," Rzonca said. At his request, the committee also adopted a de-residue addressed to the prime minister, in which it calls for conducting economic analyses of the railroad connection between Kiev-Wrocław-Dresden-Paris.

According to a spokeswoman for the Podkarpackie Governor, Małgorzata Waksmundzka-Szarek, work is currently underway to develop a functional-utility program for the crossing, and technical documentation will be developed in 2017.

The spokesperson pointed out that for the creation of the crossing, it is necessary to improve the road infrastructure on the Ukrainian side. If this happens, the crossing could be built by 2019.

Minister of Infrastructure and Construction Andrzej Adamczyk, who spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Omelan before the commission began, said that the conversation concerned, among other things, the possibility of developing railroad communication on the Przemyśl-Lviv route.

- It is a possibility to run the connection without translating railroad cars (due to wheelbase). We will talk about it. We want to correlate this connection with trains that will go from Przemyśl into the country - he added.

The minister noted that he and Omelan agreed that in mid-December a Polish-Ukrainian team will start working to find solutions in railroad transport.

Referring to the idea of launching a Kiev-Wrocław-Dresden-Paris connection, Adamczyk stressed that economic analyses must first be conducted.

- This issue will be discussed by the Polish-Ukrainian team which we will establish in December. We will also take into consideration the possibility that the Kiev-Przemyśl connection will run on a wide track, and later connections will be made from Przemyśl - added the head of the Ministry of Infrastructure.

Representatives of the infrastructure commission of the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) of Ukraine also took part in the commission meeting.

PAP