Płaszów II Wastewater Treatment Plant in Kraków (Cohesion Fund / ISPA)

Construction of the modern Płaszów II wastewater treatment plant in Kraków was one of the first large Polish water and wastewater projects co-financed from the pre-accession ISPA fund, and subsequently from the Cohesion Fund. The project was carried out under European Commission decision No. PH/2000/6181 and the Financing Memorandum of 28 December 2000; its scope was extended by decision No. K(2005)5792 of 19 December 2005. The project value under the Financing Memorandum was EUR 85,804,200 (PLN 366,117,671.96), of which European Union co-financing accounted for EUR 55,772,730 (PLN 233,206,196.95), i.e. 65% of eligible costs; the remainder was financed from the own funds of Miejskie Przedsiębiorstwo Wodociągów i Kanalizacji S.A. w Krakowie (MPWiK) and from a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Construction works began on 5 May 2003; the main part of the investment was completed in 2007, and the last element, a sludge thermal treatment station, was commissioned in October 2010. The implementation period closed on 31 December 2010. The plant provides full mechanical-biological treatment of wastewater from the central part of Kraków (an area inhabited by approximately 500,000 residents). The beneficiary and operator is MPWiK S.A. w Krakowie. Methodological note: this record covers only the Płaszów II project (a single decision and a single financing memorandum); the later stages of the 'Water and Wastewater Management in Kraków' programme (Stages I–VII) are separate, independently decided projects under the Operational Programme Infrastructure and Environment, and are not aggregated here.