2005 - 2006 - Pinsent Masons Water Yearbook 2012

POLAND PART 2: COUNTRY ANALYSIS
Privatisation prospects
The pace of privatisation is stepping up after a slow start. The main development to date has been
the planned flotation of Warsaw’s water and sewerage services since 2000. Urban water and
sewerage services such as the second Warsaw STW have been reconstructed as limited companies,
but remain directly under the control of the municipalities and the Government’s Environmental
Council. Effectively all aspects of the operation of water and sewerage services are in the hands of
the local authorities. It is up to each authority to decide if privatisation will take place. The major
French water companies have been helping to frame the privatisation process. While the Government
remains committed to privatising water and sewerage services, there is some reluctance at municipal
level. SAUR’s experience in Gdansk may alleviate this.
The city of Stettin was expected to start a prequalification process for the award of a water and
sewerage concession by the end of 2000. The privatisation of Poznan’s PwiK was abandoned, when
the municipality decided that it could develop its services for 650,000 people unilaterally, by using the
EU’s €75 million Instrument for Structural Policies Pre-Accession (IPSA) grant, even though it was
linked to a concession.
Water companies noted
SAUR is involved in the management of Gdansk’s water and sewerage facilities. SAUR Neptun
Gdansk has increased the proportion of water that meets the Government’s water quality criteria from
8% in 1992 to 25% in 1997. In November 1999, SAUR gained a €40 million 25 year water and
wastewater management and renewal contract for Ruda Slaska, which has a population of 170,000.
In Krakow, CH2M Hill (USA) has developed a plan for water provision for the city which it hopes to turn
into a BOOT contract. RWE Aqua, Gelsenwasser, VE, UU, SAUR and Suez are bidding for the
Poznan concession. In 2003, Atkins Water was commissioned by the Krakow Municipal Water and
Sewerage Company (MPWiK) to undertake a range of efficiency studies with the potential of
privatisation to mind.
Groundwater resources
Total recharge (1998, km³) 36.0
Per capita (1998, m 3 ) 931
Withdrawals (1990, km³) 2.0
For domestic use (1990) 70%
For industry (1990) 30%
For agriculture (1990) 0%
MAJOR CITIES
Population 2000 2015 Status
Katowice 3,494,000 3,547,000 N/A
Warsaw 2,274,000 2,325,000 Privatisation plans being drawn up
Lodz 1,053,000 1,061,000 N/A
Gdansk 893,000 913,000 Management contract since 1995
Krakow 859,000 892,000 BOT plans under consideration
City Study: Warsaw
Central Warsaw has 1.64 million inhabitants, 98% receiving potable water and 95% connected to the
sewerage network. One sewage treatment work treats the effluents of 500,000-600,000 people. The
rest of the effluent is directly discharged into the Vistula River. Approximately 25% of the population is
subject to water shortages, partly due to a 113% increase in distribution losses between 1975 and
1991, at a time when consumption rose by 39% (reasons include, customer affluence, e.g. washing
machines and power showers).
The EBRD is encouraging Warsaw to float Miejskie Przedsiebiorstwo Wodociagow I Kananlizacji
(MPWiK) in the shorter term, ideally through an IPO. The city’s first STW has a treatment capacity of
240,000m 3 per day. Degrémont was involved in the design and construction of the second Warsaw
STW and the upgrading of the original STW in a project which is being partially funded by the EBRD.
The second STW has a capacity of 112,000m 3 per day, serving 300,000 people at a cost of US$128.5
million. VE's OTV is involved in the design of a third STW for Northern Warsaw, for treating a
160 Pinsent Masons Water Yearbook 2005 – 2006