The Polish-Chinese consortium PUT Intercor is set to begin construction work on the third and final section of Rail Baltica, following the signing of a €747 million contract.

The consortium comprises Intercor, Stecol Corp and Sinohydro Corp and it will upgrade a 71km section of line between Czyżew and Białystok in Poland. Once the line is completed, trains will be able to travel on it at speeds of up to 200kmh.

As part of the contract, PTU Intercor will also build a 200m-long bridge between Lapy and Uhow.

The modernisation of the line will allow it to connect with the future Rail Baltica line, which, it is hoped, will boost trade through the Baltic states of the European Union. In turn, Rail Baltica will form part of the trans-European passage, ultimately running through Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland.

The new high-speed line, which is being developed by the Polish railway infrastructure company PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe, represents the largest and highest-value project seen in Poland in years.

The company’s president of the board, Ireneusz Merchel, said, “We are consistently implementing investments on the Polish section of Rail Baltica and we are fully using funds from the CEF Connecting Europe program.”

In a statement, following the contract signing, the Polish minister of infrastructure, Andrzej Adamczyk, said, “The modernisation of the trans-European Rail Baltica corridor in Poland is one of the most important projects included in the National Railway Program.”

He added that “the economy of the country will gain and the role of Poland on the transport map of Europe will increase”.