A Year of the Nonpartisan Local Government Representatives’ Coalition with Law and Justice

The meeting was also attended by Michał Dworczyk – Head of the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, Marcin Gwóźdź – Member of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland, Marcin Krzyżanowski – Deputy Marshal of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Tymoteusz Myrda – member of the Management Board of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, and Patryk Wild – a voivodeship assembly councillor representing the Nonpartisan Local Government Representatives.

– We are focused on making life in Lower Silesia as good as possible. From the outset, this was what we wanted to build our coalition around – Minister Michał Dworczyk noted.

Reduction of the Copper Tax

As announced before the elections, one of the priorities set by the coalition of the Nonpartisan Local Government Representatives and Law and Justice, which has governed Lower Silesia since November last year, was to reduce the copper tax. The tax on the extraction of certain minerals (copper and silver) has been collected in Poland since 2012. The levy is a huge burden for KGHM, and over the past seven years the company has paid a total of PLN 11 billion on this account. Thanks to a 15% reduction in the tax, KGHM will retain approximately PLN 240 million annually. This will provide the company with stability and enable it to plan its further development realistically.

Rebuilding Railways in Lower Silesia

In December 2018, the regional government began a major project to take over nearly 400 km of railway lines from the State (22 lines in total). It was agreed that individual sections would be taken over in packages of several lines. The aim of these measures is to combat transport exclusion in the voivodeship and, at the same time, fight smog.

– As of today, we have already taken over seven lines, and passenger services are now returning to the first one, leading to Bielawa. The revitalisation of this section was completed at a record pace, and the investment was worth more than PLN 15 million. Passengers will travel by train to Bielawa as early as December, after an interruption of nearly 40 years – says Marshal Cezary Przybylski.

A railway connection between Wrocław and Lubin was also launched in June this year. Trains returned to the copper basin after almost 20 years. Until then, Lubin had been the second-largest county town in Poland without railway access (alongside Jastrzębie-Zdrój and Siemianowice Śląskie).

The dynamic development of railways in Lower Silesia is inextricably linked to Koleje Dolnośląskie, the company subordinate to the voivodeship marshal. The regional carrier continues to break records and now transports 12 million passengers annually. In October this year, a record month for the company, 1.4 million passengers used KD services!

– We have just signed an agreement under which a railway connection between Wrocław and Prague will soon be launched. As you can see, we are systematically expanding our region’s railway network not only regionally but also internationally – adds Tymoteusz Myrda, a member of the voivodeship’s Management Board.

Oncology

Investments in healthcare have been one of the voivodeship government’s most important priorities for years. Following the success of the newly built New Marciniak Voivodeship Hospital, to which three facilities located in different parts of Wrocław were relocated, a decision was made to build a new oncology hospital nearby.

The New Oncology-Pulmonology-Hematology Hospital, like the aforementioned Marciniak Hospital, will bring together medical facilities previously scattered across the city and help ensure the highest standard of patient care.

– A tender for its design is currently under way. Five consortia are competing for the right to become the general contractor for the investment, worth approximately PLN 600 million. The new oncology hospital will have 700 beds and more than 10 operating theatres, and 10,000 procedures will be performed there annually – informs Deputy Marshal Marcin Krzyżanowski.

At the same time, a pilot oncology network has been operating since February this year, monitoring the most common cancers. Two voivodeships are participating: Lower Silesia and Świętokrzyskie. The leader and coordinator of the network in our region is the Lower Silesian Oncology Centre, which cooperates with 12 oncology centres. Since March this year, the Centre has also been implementing an e-services system co-financed by EU funds. It will improve the quality of patient service and data protection, while modernising the daily work of the Oncology Hospital. The implementation and integration of the system will provide 24-hour access to medical records, seven days a week.

Lower Silesian Sports Centre at Polana Jakuszycka

The region’s largest sports investment in recent years is being built in Jakuszyce. Construction work on the site began several months ago, and completion is scheduled for 2021. – The investment, worth more than PLN 142 million, is being financed jointly by the local government, the government and the Dolnośląski Park Innowacji i Nauki company – explains Marshal Cezary Przybylski.

As a result, a sports centre will be created at Polana Jakuszycka, featuring cross-country skiing and biathlon trails with a shooting range, a roller-ski track, an indoor swimming pool, a toboggan hill, and a cycling track for children and young people. In total, approximately 60 km of ski trails and three separate loops for professionals are to be created. The main building will contain more than 200 accommodation places, conference and training rooms, a winter sports museum, and a wellness centre with a sauna area. The centre will also include a rental facility for skis, roller skates and bicycles, as well as ski-waxing cabins. The facility will operate year-round, and a football pitch and athletics track are planned for its surroundings.

Bypasses of Lower Silesian Cities

Investments in road infrastructure are not limited to major projects; they also include many smaller initiatives that are extremely important for the safety and comfort of local road traffic.

– Over the past year, we have opened several important bypasses around Lower Silesian cities for residents, including the Jelenia Góra and Brzeg Dolny bypasses, opened in April, and the Bolesławiec bypass, opened a year ago. Work is also under way on the second stage of the Dzierżoniów bypass – the tender for construction of the route is currently being decided – says Patryk Wild, a voivodeship assembly councillor.

Lower Silesia Leads in Economic Development

Today, Lower Silesia is one of the fastest-developing regions in Europe and is open to global cooperation. Thanks to EU funds, more than PLN 9 billion will be allocated to the development of Lower Silesia in 2014–2020. To date, 3,300 agreements on EU funding have been signed, along with 16,000 approved payment applications, placing us among Poland’s best-performing voivodeships. In total, beneficiaries of EU assistance have received PLN 4 billion, while the region has already used more than PLN 7 billion of the available PLN 9 billion.

Thanks to the activity of the local government, the number of foreign-capital investments continues to grow, new jobs are being created, and the modern economy is becoming Lower Silesia’s hallmark. The region’s largest foreign-capital investments include XEOS Lufthansa, Mercedes-Benz, BASF and 3M. The regional unemployment rate is approximately 4.5%, lower than the national average of 5%.