Ministers of infrastructure from the countries participating in the project for construction of the Via Carpathia highway met in Warsaw on Thursday, 3 March. The prospects for construction of branches to neighboring countries, including Ukraine, were also discussed, the press service of Poland’s Ministry of Infrastructure and Construction announced in a statement.
Previously, Polish media reported about possible construction of a branch of the Via Carpathia highway to the Romanian port of Constanta. Now, the possibility of the creating six such routes, three of which will pass through the territory of Ukraine, is being discussed.
The first segment will pass through Ukraine from Lublin (Poland) to Chelm and continue along the route Kovel/Lutsk - Kyiv/Ternopil - Vinnytsia - Odesa. The other two branches will connect Poland, Ukraine, and Romania. These are the highways Lublin - Zamosc - Lviv - Ternopil - Siret - Bucharest and Rzeszow - Lviv - Chernivtsi - Suceava - Bacau - Galati.
Another branch will pass through the territory of Poland. This road will connect Lublin, Warsaw, Gdynia, and Gdansk. In addition, a segment of Via Carpathia leading to Turkey will start from the capital of Bulgaria, Sofia.
The meeting was initiated by Poland. Poland considers Via Carpathia as an important highway that will improve communication and transportation of goods between the Baltic Sea and the Aegean Sea. The highway is of particular importance to countries of Central and Eastern Europe.
"Via Carpathia is the development highway for Central and Eastern Europe. I am convinced that the Via Carpathia highway will stimulate economic development of the region and the European Union," Poland’s Minister of Infrastructure and Construction Andrzej Adamczyk said.
The conference was attended by ministers or representatives from the relevant ministries of Lithuania, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, and Turkey. A declaration on cooperation between these countries was signed at the end of the meeting.
