New vehicle category and indexation of toll rates on the A2 section Nowy Tomyśl – Konin

As of 9 March 2023, toll rates will change on the toll sections of the Autostrada Wielkopolska concession motorway Nowy Tomyśl – Konin. Also, a new, sixth vehicle category will be established for motorcycles, which means in practice lower tolls for bikes by 46 percent in that section. The cost of using the A2 section Świecko – Nowy Tomyśl remains unaltered.

The change of toll rates on the 150 km A2 stretch will become effective as of 9 March 2023. Commencing 6:00 a.m. that day, the toll rates for driving each of the three 50 km long sections between Nowy Tomyśl and Konin will be as follows:

• PLN 14 – Cat. 6 (motorcycles) with a 50% discount on the Cat. 1 toll rate,
• PLN 28 – Category 1 (two-axle motor vehicles),
• PLN 43 – Category 2 (two – axle vehicles of which at least one axle is equipped with twin wheels, and two-axle motorcycles and vehicles with trailers),
• PLN 66 – Category 3 (three – axle vehicles and two – axle vehicles of which at least one axle is equipped with twin wheels with trailers)
• PLN 100 – Category 4 (vehicles with more than three axles and vehicles with three axles with trailers),
• PLN 280 – Category 5 (oversize vehicles).

The toll rates are inclusive of a 23% Value Added Tax. The concession motorway tolls in Poland, unlike public motorways where no VAT is charged, are subject to the Value Added Tax. The cost of using the Autostrada Wielkopolska concession section Świecko – Nowy Tomyśl remains unaltered. Drivers of Category 1 and 6 vehicles shall pay PLN 18 for 106 km of that section.

The change in prices is dictated by an increase in the cost of routine maintenance, finance costs – loan service and the cost of the ongoing and planned investments. Increases in the prices of materials and services in various sectors of the economy are recording historic peaks. According to the Central Statistical Office, in January 2023, inflation growth reached a level unseen in 26 years – as high as 17.2 percent compared to the corresponding month of the preceding year. Rising service and energy prices, including a 34 percent year-on-year increase in the price of energy carriers in January, are significantly increasing the motorway maintenance costs. Prices in transportation and transport services grew at a double-digit rate, with a 16 percent year-on-year increase in January 2023. In addition, the producer price index remains high – producer inflation, i.e. the rate of price increases faced by domestic companies, was 18.5 percent in January 2023.

All those circumstances affect, without a doubt, the cost of routine maintenance of the motorway and the cost of the of investment and rehabilitation works program scheduled for the forthcoming periods. The company has regularly been fulfilling its obligations under concession and has been implementing the adopted work program without undue delay. In addition, the cost of financing the entire project has been increasing with the rising interest rates and the weak Polish zloty against a basket of major currencies, particularly the Euro.

It is the Company’s intention to make such changes that will partly offset the negative factors resulting from the current economic situation and will not become an undue burden on drivers or forwarding companies. The current rate adjustment is lower than current inflation readings and price changes on other toll road sections, and ranges from 7.6 percent to 10.2 percent, depending on the vehicle category.

In addition, the company establishes a new Category 6 for motorcycles separate from Category 1 and grants a 50 percent discount for such new category on the A2 Motorway section between Nowy Tomyśl and Konin. In the section Świecko – Nowy Tomyśl where the toll rates are established by the Ministry of Infrastructure the rate for motorcycles is the same as for cars.

The entire concession section of the A2 Motorway between Nowy Tomyśl and Konin is maintained by Autostrada Wielkopolska and is in no way subsidized by the State Treasury. The average daily traffic in the Nowy Tomyśl – Konin section is about 30,000 vehicles. In the neighborhood of Poznań, between the outer interchanges of the Poznan Bypass traffic exceeds 80,000 vehicles, on some days approaching 100,000 vehicles a day. Thirty percent of the vehicles using the Autostrada Wielkopolska concession section are trucks, which strongly translates into wear and tear of the pavement and the need for rehabilitation.

Despite the rising inflation and the cost of rehabilitation and maintenance of the motorway, the Company has been completing its planned investments on time and has been implementing upgrade projects in accordance with the adopted multi-year maintenance plan and the concession agreement. This year, Autostrada Wielkopolska will continue a major pavement rehabilitation in the section between Nowy Tomyśl and Poznań. The pavement at the interchange in Nowy Tomyśl, Buk and over 42 km of the mainline has already been rehabilitated. Further pavement rehabilitation is planned between Buk and Poznan, as well as three more interchanges. In addition, plans for 2023 include the rehabilitation of the engineering structures (bridges and overbridges) and new investments in environmentally friendly solutions (LED lighting fixtures and the development of an electric charger network). Planning and preparations are also underway for another broadening of the Poznań bypass to include 3 lanes in the Poznań Krzesiny – Poznań Wschód section. The investments carried out by Autostrada Wielkopolska are meant to ensure high quality of the road infrastructure and in no way burden the State budget.

Autostrada Wielkopolska and Autostrada Wielkopolska II are international concession companies responsible for the construction and operation of a 255 km stretch of A2 motorway from Świecko to Konin which is the biggest PPP project in this part of Europe. Projects pursued by both concession companies have been timely completed within the initial budgets agreed with the public party and lenders, with no EU subsidies involved nor any financing from the Polish State Treasury.