Bureaucratically challenged

When the President of Warsaw, Lech Kaczyński, made rather enigmatic remarks about the Okęcie airport extension, voices were heard claiming that the 'new establishment' was ill-disposed towards investors

Residents' associations in the boroughs of Włochy, Ursus and Ochota, Okęcie airport's neighbouring districts, are among those who oppose the construction of the new terminal, claiming it will exacerbate the noise pollution. This protest has been backed by ecologists who have expressed concern about the capital's air corridor, which carries Warsaw's de-polluting winds. In April, members of Warsaw's Law and Justice, (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość), Party declared that they'd "put a spanner in the works" of the investment, while Lech Kaczyński himself expressed doubts as to its feasibility. Witold Słowik, the man in charge of the city's strategic development announced that "the airport has reached the limits of its development". In addition to carrying out the project, Budimex and Ferrovial-Agroman, the two developers who were selected in the tender organised by Przedsiębiorstwo Państwowe Porty Lotnicze, the main investor of the almost USD 200 mln scheme, have also been burdened with the task of acquiring all the necessary permits.

Power and opinions
"We couldn't have been on bad terms with Lech Kaczyński, because so far we've had nothing to do with him and though a number of councillors have spoken out against the new Okęcie terminal, they have no authority over our investment," says Waldemar Mierzwa of Budimex, who adds that it's up to the Mazowsze Voivod to make the final decision; the city authorities have only the power to offer their opinions.

Less of the politics
Mieczysław Godzisz, Director of Hines, the company who are developing the Metropolitan office building in Plac Piłsudskiego, says he's had no dealings with the new city authorities either, apart from at the presentation of Pałac Saski's reconstruction plans.
"I got the impression that the presentation hadn't been particularly well thought through, because virtually all the tasks linked to financial management and the establishment of property rights to the plot, were placed on the shoulders of the prospective investor. It seemed to pay no heed to the fact that times have changed and investors are no longer falling over themselves to spend their money. I feel that the city should try and be more creative in attracting capital."
Hines' boss feels none to warmly either about the previous team who successfully held back his work on the project.
"I've got the feeling that all the obstacles we've encountered so far, stem from the over-politicised nature of the previous city council. The location and its historical context triggered strong emotions which seemed to have paralysed the administrators." Godzisz recalls that only after the unequivocally positive opinion issued by the then Voivod could the authorities be persuaded. "A year and a half had to pass before the historical monuments conservator boldly agreed to make a decision and issued instructions which gave the go-ahead to the design process. Now, we are very pleased with our co-operation with the conservator."
However Godzisz admits that during the investment process, there were a number of people who helped Hines develop the scheme.
"The Central Borough assisted us when resolving all the complications we had with the pre-World War Two owners of our site," he says.

Wanted: clearer regulations
Piotr Truchoński, head of Projects' Management at Hochtief Project Development, claims that their problems with Rondo 1 at Rondo ONZ, an office block and a car parking complex, had nothing to do with political games.
However, what Piotr Truchoński objects to is the fact that "administrators are inflexible, and occasionally seem to do nothing but pass documents from desk to desk. I wish an investor could, one way or the other, hear from an institution within 21 days. It is unfortunate that the current bureaucratic tendency to dodge responsibility puts off potential investors."
Truchoński is convinced that what Warsaw lacks is a uniform and well and accessibly defined investment development procedure. "An investor who wishes to invest, say, USD 200 mln, must know whether the scheme can be carried out in two or five years. I have much better memories of consultations with such companies as Stoen and Spec, respectively the energy and heating suppliers, as they are now private and are much more open to co-operation with investors than city councillors."

Sloppy administration
From the moment they received all the required documentation, the Warsaw authorities needed 2 months before they could issue a construction permit for Rondo 1. The developer of the Centrum Jasna office building at the corner of ul. Jasna and ul. Świętokrzyska however, wasn't this lucky.
"Unfortunately we didn't manage to avoid certain problems. For instance, to begin with, we didn't get the right type of permit, and the city authorities refused to accommodate us. A year and a half had to pass, from the moment we submitted all the documents to the date our permit was issued," says Tomasz Goetz, Centrum Jasna Project Director. He goes on to say that it is too early to judge the attitude of the new city council, although when it comes to city bureaucrats, he isn't shy of listing his complaints.
"The whole institution seems debilitated and impersonal. It's very tough cooperating with utilities' suppliers for construction sites, and while Stoen and Spec work efficiently, our relations with Zarząd Dróg Miejskich (Municipal Roads Management) are a real ordeal. Every detail must be discussed separately, as though it's impossible to deal with things as a whole, in one go."
Goetz thinks it possible to introduce changes without necessarily modifying the law. He refers to the German system where it is possible to begin carrying out a scheme on the basis of  certain land conditions. Naturally, there comes a time when the investor must acquire a construction permit, but until then, initial stages such as those involving preparatory earthworks may be implemented, and thus less time wasted.
"I think that all investors and developers will agree that Warsaw bureaucrats are the reason why the city is so difficult to invest in. However, I also think that any changes will be difficult to implement."