Postulates of the Polish Construction Congress

During the first edition of the Polish Construction Congress, held in April 2022 in Poznań, 19 postulates were developed as recommendations for the industry and the state administration. 

1. To subject the new public procurement law to a reassessment after two years  of its operation; to make possible changes. 
2. Immediate implementation of legal solutions to prevent destabilization of the construction sector in view of the significant and unpredictable impact of the war in Ukraine on ongoing and new contracts. 
3. Improve mechanisms for valorization of contractors' remuneration in public contracts. 
4. Balancing contractual risks in construction contracts in the public segment. 
5. Addressing the problem of overly hasty triggering of guarantees and accrual of contractual penalties by public contracting authorities. 
6. Involving business in vocational education (dual model, business teaches). 
7. Improving the higher education model for the engineering profession. 
8. Facilitating the hiring of foreigners (especially from outside the EU). 
9. Introducing a Polish BIM standard in line with PN-EN ISO 19650 and mandatory use of BIM tools for construction projects into the Public Procurement Law. 
10. Construction products with Type III environmental declarations confirm the status of environmentally sustainable activities and should be a priority in the implementation of public projects in the Polish market. 
11. Streamlining the operation of the so-called mutual recognition principle - an innovative construction product marketed in one EU member state can be legally introduced in another member state. 
12. Reducing the time for issuing investment permits. 
13. Confirming that the construction process can lead to by-products. 
14. Defining the place of waste generation and removing the permit requirement for simple recovery methods carried out on the back of construction sites as part of a closed construction process. 
15. Establish a parmanent platform for dialogue with the public on the necessary changes towards sustainability, related to the European Green Deal, EU Taxonomy and ESG reporting. 
16. Education and training of subcontracting and supplying companies in the area of environmentally sustainable operations in order to maintain their position in supply chains. 
17. Develop a standard for classifying construction sites as compliant with EU Taxonomy guidelines and European Green Deal goals. 
18. Systemic solution to the problem of insufficient resilience of investment processes to changing economic conditions (uncontrolled price increases, resource shortages). 
19. Interventionist solution to the problem of lack of valorization or illusory valorization of contracts in progress as a particularly significant barrier to construction development in the coming years. 

MAIN ISSUES

GOOD LAW, GOOD CONSTRUCTION

• Public Procurement Law from the perspective of the construction sector.
• Amicable settlement of disputes between procurers and contractors.
• The impact of the war in Ukraine on ongoing contracts.
• Construction law and zoning regulations - assessment of the current state and directions of necessary changes.

ECONOMICS AND FINANCE

• Sources of financing for public investment and private investment until 2030.
• Relationship of the construction industry with banks/insurers - trust and proper communication.
• Potential of banks/insurers to finance the construction sector in the face of investment challenges.
• The role of public procurers and the government side.
• What's next for Polish construction companies?
• Impact of climate and ESG transformation on the construction sector.
• Financing innovation in the construction sector.

LABOR MARKET AND EDUCATION

• How to organize industry education as a basic component of the system of providing human resources in the construction industry?
• The role of technical colleges in training engineers to meet business needs.
• Law-image-conditions - legal expectations and a package of benefits to ensure the inflow and retention of workers in the industry.

CONSTRUCTION AND INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE CURRENT DECADE

• Volume and industrial construction.
• Road construction.
• Railroad construction.
• Hydrotechnical construction.
• Energy construction and renewable energy sources.
• Municipal construction.

INNOVATION AND NEW TECHNOLOGIES

• BIM - technologies, implementations, legal aspects.
• Implementation of innovative materials and technologies in the construction industry.
• Carbon footprint - challenges before low-carbon construction.

ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

• The EU's idea of a circular economy vs. national barriers related to the reuse of materials from construction and demolition.
• Implications of the amended EIA for the investment process.
• Macro environment of the National Electricity System and its impact on investment decisions.
• Code of Good Practices for the electric power industry.