I have been to Poland twice, and I have experienced her beauty, but also the pain of Chinese companies. This article from the micro-channel public number: embassies House (ID: zhuwaizhijia) , Author: Peter Lin, title Picture from Visual China

First trip to Poland

At 2 pm on May 19, 2009, I took flight CA931 to Frankfurt, which took 11 hours to arrive. There is a 6-hour difference between Frankfurt and Beijing, and the air distance is more than 8,000 kilometers. After staying in Frankfurt for 3 hours, take flight LO380 to Warsaw, the capital of Poland, and arrive there after 2 hours of flight (local time at 11 pm on the 19th and Beijing time on the 20th It’s 5 o’clock in the morning), the first trip to Poland began.

Poland is the largest country in Central Europe and one of the top ten tourist countries in the world. It is located in the northeastern part of Central Europe, bordered by the Baltic Sea to the north, Germany to the west, Czechoslovakia and Slovakia to the south, and Belarus and Ukraine to the northeast and southeast.

Warsaw Street View

Speaking of Poland, people naturally think of Chopin and Madame Curie. Chopin is a great composer and pianist that Poles are proud of. The Chopin International Piano Competition held in Warsaw once every five years attracts players from all over the world and has become a top event in the international music industry. In fact, when we get off the plane, we feel Poland’s respect for Chopin. The name of Warsaw Airport is Chopin International Airport.

Madame Curie, who was born in Warsaw, was the first in the world to win the Nobel Prize twice.A female scientist in China, she has made great contributions to uncovering the mystery of the atom. Madame Curie is also one of only two people who have won Nobel Prizes in different fields. On this trip to Warsaw, I had the honor to visit Madame Curie’s former residence and stopped in front of the church where Chopin’s heart was stored.

According to the introduction, Chopin’s heart is placed under a column in the center of the church. A line of Polish is engraved on the top of the column, which means “heart, always in the most cherished place” in Chinese.

Warsaw Street View

Warsaw is the largest city in Poland. It presents the characteristics of a bright modern city and is known as the Little America in Eastern Europe. Warsaw has always maintained the layout of the old city and the new city. All kinds of historical monuments and places of interest are mostly concentrated in the old city, especially the magnificent palaces, huge churches, various arrow towers, castles, etc., attracting a large number of foreign tourists to see here every year.

Warsaw is also a city of heroes and suffering. It is a city of faith full of churches and a city of poetic life. Walking in the small streets of the ancient city, I admire the wisdom and courage of the Poles very much!

During the Second World War, the ancient city of Warsaw was severely damaged and almost razed to the ground. More than 85% of the buildings in the city were destroyed. The magnificent classical buildings were almost gone, and there were ruined walls everywhere. A piece of scorched earth. Some westerners once asserted: “Warsaw will not reappear in the world. There is no hope for at least 100 years.” But facts gave the opposite answer. After Warsaw got rid of the war in 1945, it rebuilt the city as it is, not only maintaining the style of the medieval city, but also building a new urban area that exceeds the scale and level of the pre-war. During the reconstruction process, the work of protecting and restoring historical monuments was paid special attention. Before the war, almost all of the 900 buildings of historical significance in the city were restored and refurbished. The old palaces, churches, castles, etc. are even more apparent. Majestic and majestic.

Warsaw Street View

As early as before the war began, the teachers and students of the Department of Architecture of the University of Warsaw had surveyed and mapped the main blocks and important buildings of the ancient city of Warsaw. They hid all these drawings and materials in the cave. Although the houses and streets were destroyed, their image materials were preserved. After the war, they rebuilt the ancient city of Warsaw based on these drawings.

It took the Poles ten years to build an identical old city of Warsaw from the ruins. In 1980, Warsaw City was included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List. This is an unprecedented case of “new buildings” being included in the World Cultural Heritage List.

Today, the city of Warsaw still maintains the layout of the old city and the new city. Various historical monuments and places of interest are mostly concentrated in the old city. In the new city, modern high-rise buildings are connected one by one, and various shops, restaurants, hotels, hotels abound. The residential area with elegant environment, reasonable layout, convenient living, lush forest, extensive flowers and plants, just like a garden. The traffic in the city extends in all directions and is in order.

In Warsaw, in addition to Chopin and Madame Curie, you can also see some prominent names or sculptures-Copernicus, Pope Paul II… They are undoubtedly the pride of Poland.

I am going to Krakow from Warsaw by train and will arrive in 3 hours. Krakow is about 300 kilometers away from Warsaw. Looking out from the train window, Poland’s fields are beautiful, with large expanses of clearings in the forests, with emerald green and golden colors, bright and soft, and faint clouds and fog, dotted with red-roofed farmyards and Flowers, like oil paintings floating by the window, and Chopin’s Polish dances floated in the carriage, giving people endless space for inspiration and imagination.

Cracow is an important ancient capital in Polish history. It is an ancient city similar to Xi’an in our country. It is well preserved and is rated as one of the most beautiful ancient cities in Europe (the other two cities are Vienna and Prague). There are lively and colorful market squares, ancient universities, and royal castles. Krakow’s Old Town is a famous World Heritage Site on the United Nations list.

During the Second World War, all of Poland was caught in the flames of war, and only Krakow survivedIn the face of difficulties, the medieval old city Guanghua is completely preserved, and many places of interest on the World Heritage List are located here.

Krakow was the capital of Poland for 600 years from 1038 to 1609. This period of history is preserved in detail on the market square in the old city of Krakow today. The wide square is different from the compact layout of other European cities. Since the 13th century, it has been the commercial center of Poland and the most concentrated and active place in the city. The first floor of the city hall in the middle of the square is still a lively market like hundreds of years ago. Amber from the Baltic Sea and fur from Eastern Europe are the most distinctive products here.

Warsaw Street View

Poland is one of the main amber producing areas in the world, and its products are sold to China in large quantities. Natural amber originated from 40 million years ago, when the climate was warm, and the resin was drooping from the branches of pine and fir and was buried by soil sediments, so the resin was preserved. Later, due to the changes in the crust, a large area of ​​land became the seabed. This is why most of the amber in the world is produced on the coast of the Baltic Sea. (Amber is mostly produced in Poland, Lithuania, Russia, etc. On the coast of the Baltic Sea, the amber of these countries is golden and transparent, with crystal clear texture, good quality and large output).

During my stay in Poland, I had the opportunity to pay homage to Madame Curie’s former residence in Warsaw.

There is a street called Freita in Warsaw, and the memorial of Madame Curie is located on this street. This is a baroque three-story apartment building with brown and pink walls. There is a small balcony in the middle of the second floor. Inside is the Madam Curie Memorial.

Krakow Street View

In the memorial hall quietly, we cautiously walked up the stairs with reverence and excitement. The stairs were carpeted, and they creaked when they walked up. The exhibition room displays the relics of Madame Curie, a group photo of the whole family, test utensils, and copies of the Nobel Prize certificate…

Mrs. Curie is known as the “mother of atomic science”. Several enlarged photos in the memorial show the years of Curie’s scientific research before people’s eyes. This great scientific explorer held a test bottle to look carefully, or a book at his desk, or sitting at a small table, gazing and meditating, a nearly one-meter long oil painting depicting the Curie and his wife separated in a large shed laboratory together. The scene of radium. Due to their talent and insight in the field of physics, they discovered the two most important metal elements-polonium and radium. On December 10, 1903, the Curies won the Nobel Prize in Physics.

Krakow Street View

A car accident in 1906 claimed the precious life of Pierre Curie. Soon thereafter, Madame Curie succeeded her husband and became the first female professor at the University of Paris. Marie Curie worked tirelessly to achieve major achievements. She won the Nobel Prize again in 1911, this time in Chemistry.

Madame Curie is the idol of scientific workers. The Madam Curie Memorial is not only a place admired by the Polish people, but also a must-see for foreign tourists. So far, the memorial has received visitors from more than 100 countries.

I would like to visit the former residence of celebrities, as if many things there are talking to you. Also feel the breath of history and culture.

the second trip to Poland

On July 16, 2010, I went to Poland again. At 11:30 in the morning, take flight LH721 to Frankfurt and arrive there for 10 hours. After staying in Frankfurt for 2 hours, take flight LH3304 to the Polish capital of Warsaw at 17:20 local time. After flying for 1.5 hours, you will arrive at 18:55. (local time 16 At 19:00 that evening, Beijing time is already 1 am on the 17th).

Poland joined the World Trade Organization on July 1, 1995, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on March 12, 1999, the European Union on May 1, 2004, and the Schengen Agreement on December 21, 2007. In 2012, Poland and Ukraine jointly hosted the European Football Championship.

The destination of my trip is the site of the Polish A2 highway project. This highway connecting the Polish capital of Warsaw and the German capital of Berlin was built by Poland for the European Cup co-hosted by Ukraine and is scheduled to be completed before the opening of the event on June 8, 2012.

The Polish A2 highway project is located between the Łódź region and the Warsaw region. The length of the A section is 29.24km. The mileage of bid section C is 20.03km. The construction period is from October 5, 2009 to June 4, 2012 (including the design period). This is the first infrastructure project undertaken by the COVEC consortium in the European Union, and it is of great significance for the further development of the European Union market.

Information obtained on arrival:

  • The signing date of Poland’s A2 highway: September 28, 2009, The design and construction preparation period is from October 2009 to October 2010.

  • Complete the pavement paving before May 31, 2012 and meet the conditions for opening to traffic.

  • Project owner: Polish State Highway and Highway Administration

  • Project supervision: Polish DHV, ARCADIS, EGIS consortium

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    • Project sponsor: Polish State Highway and Highway Administration

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      This is the first large-scale infrastructure project won by a Chinese company in the 27 EU countries.

      On June 23, 2010, the project held a construction preparation ceremony. An abandoned half-pass viaduct not far from the site where the construction ceremony was prepared. More than 30 years ago, it was planned to build a bridge from Berlin to Warsaw to welcome the 1980 Moscow Olympics. On the highway in Moscow, the half of the viaduct was built at that time, but this highway, which was called the “Olympic Road” by the Poles, was abandoned halfway after the start of construction. The broken bridge was demolished at the A2 highway construction ceremony held on June 23. With the demolition of the broken bridge, the construction project began immediately.

      At the construction ceremony held on June 23, 2010, the then Chinese ambassador to Poland Sun Yuxi stated that both China and Poland attached great importance to the project and the construction planning was progressing smoothly. He hoped that the A2 highway would benefit the local people at the same time. Contribute to the development of bilateral relations between China and Poland.

      In addition to the “China speed” factor, the Chinese-funded company winning the bid also has a price advantage. The Chinese bid was 1.3 billion zlotys (approximately US$450 million), which was more than half lower than the 2.8 billion zlotys estimated by the direct investor, the Polish State Roads and Highways Administration. The construction of the highway is the government’s capital contribution with taxpayers’ money, so it’s the biggest issue to hand over the project to a Chinese company.The beneficiaries are actually every ordinary taxpayer in Poland.

      The project site has completed camp construction, selection of some subcontracting teams and signing of subcontracts, and pre-construction work including archaeology, bomb detection, structural demolition, and demolition of abandoned bridge and culvert infrastructure in the construction preparation work. The phases of implementing negotiations, team selection and bid invitation for earthwork, bridges, culverts, and pavement base materials are beginning.

      From October 2009 to October 2010, in addition to construction preparations, the project mainly carried out design work.

      The project department selected Polish AKA design unit to complete the 29km bid section A respectively through the selection and evaluation work; the DRO design unit completed the 20km design work for the C bid section. The project department carried out selection evaluation, including comparative evaluation with domestic design institutes and local design institutes in Poland.

      After signing the design subcontract, the leaders of the project department held several office meetings to organize technical personnel, cost personnel, and designers to take full participation, division of labor, and detailed study of the drawings and contract documents to ensure the construction period Starting from the comprehensive factors of the lowest cost, choose the best design form that is conducive to the Chinese side. The project manager and chief engineer personally organized, according to the tender section one by one, the form, length, clearance requirements, basic form, etc. of the bridge were discussed one by one, and the most optimal plan was drawn up. In the design process, ensure the leading design direction and ensure that the design intent is conducive to the realization of construction cost saving and total construction period.

      On-site preparations have been carried out one after another, but the project director, Mr. F, was hospitalized twice for heart disease. During the conversation with Mr. F, I learned that the project has a tight schedule and difficult management. If the task cannot be completed on time and no one is responsible, he himself is unwilling to take responsibility. I and the leader of the company department who accompanied me All were stunned.

      The “Project Management Plan” was prepared on site. Mr. F introduced that after the construction units enter the site one after another, the “Construction Organization Design” and other construction technical documents will be compiled.

      After returning to China in late July, during the conversation with the leaders of COVEC, we reported our concerns and worries about the project. The leaders of the company told us with full confidence that they would be able to overcome difficulties and deliver satisfaction by grasping the situation on the spot. Answer sheet.

      After October, the project began to enter the construction phase, but unexpected situations began to occur. According to people familiar with the situation, Poland had not yet emerged from the global financial crisis when COVEC bid for the bid in September 2009. At that time, the Polish economy was in depression, and the Polish currency zloty depreciated sharply against the world’s major currencies, and 1 yuan could be exchanged for renminbi. 0.51 zloty, the price of various infrastructure raw materials is at a low point in the past ten years. whenAt that time, COCEC participants in the bidding felt that the price of raw materials was very low, the exchange rate was also very low, coupled with the company’s advantages in labor costs, etc., finally came to the conclusion that even at the price of 1.3 billion zlotys, they can still make money. However, unexpectedly, the Polish economy recovered quickly. For the European Football Cup to be held in the summer of 2012, Poland began to build a large amount of infrastructure. The prices of various infrastructure raw materials have risen sharply. Over the past year, some raw materials and mining equipment have been Lease prices have risen by more than 5 times, and the cost of infrastructure projects has soared.

      In those days, when domestic infrastructure was being built, environmental protection issues could still go through the scene, but in European countries, this was a sloppy issue. COVEC also paid tuition on this issue.

      On the A2 construction section, there are many rare amphibians, that is, unique frogs and toads. According to the contract, in the areas where these rare animals pass, special passages must be built to prevent the animals from being crushed to death by driving vehicles when they pass on the highway.

      For this aspect of expenses, COVEC did not pay much attention to it at the beginning. However, it was discovered after the construction started that if the project had to add multiple bridges according to the contract, this meant that the cost would be greatly overrun.

      Furthermore, during the construction period, environmental protection issues should not be taken carelessly, and the selection of borrow sites caused additional losses. Subsequently, COVEC was able to pay the subcontractor’s project payment on time, and began to fall in arrears. After repeated unsuccessful communication, the Polish subcontractor began to refuse to deliver various infrastructure materials to COVEC, and eventually caused the project to be suspended from May 18, 2011, and the crisis continued to appear.

      By the beginning of June 2011, Polish Prime Minister Tusk noticed this incident, and he met with COCEC executives on the matter. Tusk warned that this (contract) transaction cannot be renegotiated because EU regulations prohibit adjustments to public procurement contracts.

      Next, the COVEC consortium issued a notice to the owner to terminate the A2 project contract in June 2011. The owner subsequently issued a notice of termination of the contract to the consortium on June 13, 2011. The Polish government hired European builders to complete the road construction, but the price was higher than before. COVEC defeated Poland, leaving permanent pain, including loss of credibility and money.

      Of course, Poland’s choice of relatively unfamiliar Chinese-funded companies also has its specific purpose. The most fundamental reason is that Chinese-funded companies offer low quotations. Moreover, according to media reports, Polish infrastructure projects were mainly undertaken by European builders in the past. Want to use the introduction of Chinese companiesLower the overall domestic infrastructure price.

      Until the opening of the European Cup in 2012, this highway was not open.

      COVEC broke Poland, leaving pain and lessons.

      This article is from WeChat official account:Resident Home (ID: zhuwaizhijia) , author: Peter Lin