Now Cracow witnesses a birth of another key investment aiming at building a new Congress Centre. A pre-agreement on allocating subsidies from the Regional Operational Programme for the Małopolska region to the project has been signed by the city authorities, represented by the Cracow’s president Jacek Majchroswski and the Małopolskie voivodship’s marshal, Marek Nawara.
In May the city authorities selected the best project for the centre. The winning project comes form the Architectural Office Ingarden&Ewý Ltd. Both the project’s authors and investors hope to obtain the planning permission by mid 2009 and select the general contractor for the construction by the second half of 2010 what should make it possible to complete the construction process by 2012. Jan Machowski, from the Cracow City Council’s Press Office told the PAIiIZ Newsletter that the year 2012 does start to shed a specific light on many investment initiatives across Poland. Although the congress centre bears no direct link to the EURO 2012, the initiative’s progress has been monitored by many foreign partners. “We receive many commercial inquires concerning the possibility of congress organisation in Cracow. A modern congress facility stands a good chance of helping develop the so-called congress tourism in the city”, Jan Machowski said. 
The marshal of the Małopolska voivodship emphasised also that the centre ranks among the three most vital projects in the regional development strategy of the voivodship. City Council’s representatives convince that the project is one of the first initiatives to be approached so bravely and without constraints. The final effect will allow to organise a whole range of congresses, concerts, performances and exhibitions. The edifice which is thought to be a kind of architectural showcase of the city will be situated near the Grunwald roundabout with a view on the Royal Castle and the Kazimierz district.
The edifice will have a corrugated, sloping roof and a foyer made of glass that will offer a view on the Wawel caste. The outer wall of the building will comprise partly of a see-through materials and partly of an abstract ceramic-stone mosaic.
While the biggest hall’s seating capacity is planned to reach 1.8 thousand people, the smaller conference halls are estimated to seat from 300 to 600 persons. The project accounts also for a car park for about 300 units and a commercial-and-catering-oriented facilities. Interestingly, high level of technologically advanced techniques to be implemented in the construction process of the building e.g. in the field of the building’s layout and the acoustics of the halls, require consultations with the best world specialists. (Cracow City Council)