New milestone for Poland’s planned mega hub project

The company behind the plans for Poland’s new CPK mega hub, which will contain an airport, railway station and public transport interchange, has announced that the project has entered “the design acceptance process”.

It has received the construction design for the project from the master architect and notes that the design acceptance process has begun and is expected to be completed by the end of the year, potentially paving the way for construction to start in 2026.

CPK Airport will be at the heart of the hugely ambitious project, the first phase of which is planned to open at the end of 2032.

n the first stage, the northern pier (on the right) and the central piers will be constructed. The timeline for building the southern pier depends on traffic forecasts. Source: Foster + Partners.

“Under the Ministry of Infrastructure, we are advancing the updated CPK project, which is crucial for Poland. Building permit drawings are ready for submission, and design work is nearly complete,” says Dariusz Klimczak, Minister of Infrastructure.

“This is another milestone in the construction and launch of the new airport,” says Maciej Lasek, Government Commissioner for CPK.

“This investment will drive Poland’s economic growth and strengthen the market position of the national carrier, LOT Polish Airlines.”

According to the designs, the passenger terminal is approximately 450,000 square metres and will feature passenger services distributed across three levels:

Level +2: Ticket and baggage check-in, security screening, Schengen zone arrivals and departures, and some Non-Schengen arrivals.
Level +1: Non-Schengen zone arrivals and departures, transfer centers, and passport control.
Level 0: Schengen and Non-Schengen bus gates, baggage claim hall, and arrivals hall.

The Plaza, which is the square in front of the terminal and railway station, will provide access to Airport City. Source: Foster + Partners.

The main building will be connected to the piers, allowing passengers to reach the aircraft directly.

In the first stage of implementation, the airport will be capable of handling approximately 11,000 passengers per hour. On the opening day, it will boast nearly 140 check-in and baggage drop counters inside, with space reserved for the installation of an additional check-in island, increasing the number of counters to 170.

“As previously announced, we are consistently taking the next steps in preparing for the construction of the new airport,” stated CPK’s CEO, Dr Filip Czernicki.

“We have received the construction documentation from the designer, which includes approximately 6,250 design drawings and over 50 reports. Right now, a thorough verification of the documentation is underway.”

Source: Foster + Partners.

The CPK master architect consortium consists of the tender-winning design studios Foster + Partners and Buro Happold, along with over 30 other companies from various sectors, including NACO, Kuryłowicz & Associates, and Cundall.

In total, nearly 500 designers have contributed to the multidisciplinary design of the terminal, railway station, and bus station.

“The CPK investment presents a truly unique opportunity to design an entirely new airport from scratch,” said Grant Brooker, head of studio at Foster + Partners.

Source: Foster + Partners.

“Our goal was to create accessible, intuitive, and passenger-friendly infrastructure that ensures comfort, short transfer times, and a positive travel experience. Our design is focused on passengers and their needs.”

In July 2023, the CPK company received the architectural concept for the airport from the contractor, marking the transition from stage III to stage IV of the design process, which involves the development of the construction design.

Compared to stage III, design optimisations were introduced to the project in agreement with the investor, resulting in a reduction in the project’s required direct construction cost.

Source: Foster + Partners.

As part of the phased construction of CPK, the initial implementations will include the northern pier (B) for long-haul flights to the Non-Schengen countries, and the central piers (C) and (D), which will have flexible functionality to accommodate flights to both Schengen and Non-Schengen zones.

Building Permit documentation has been prepared for the southern pier (E), planned for a subsequent phase (subject to review based on continuously updated traffic forecasts).

In later phases of the airport’s expansion, additional piers will be built, with plans already in place for a northwestern pier (A) and the southwestern pier (F).