WARSAW -(July 24, 2002) The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (TDA) announces plans to award grants to the Polish Air Traffic Agency and Zaklady Chemiczne ZACHEM for $325,000 and $270,000, respectively, in a grant signing ceremony on Friday, July 26, 2002 at 2:30 p.m. at the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw. The U.S. Ambassador to Poland, Christopher Hill, will sign the grant agreements on behalf of the U.S. Government.

One of the grants that will be signed awards $325,000 to the Polish Air Traffic Agency to fund a feasibility study to assist in the modernization of the country's Communications, Navigation, Surveillance and Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) system. The study will help Poland to comply with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and Eurocontrol (the regional regulatory body) standards by helping plan the procurement of a new CNS/ATM system. DORS International of Washington, D.C., is the U.S. firm that will perform the feasibility study. The Polish CNS/ATM study complements an ongoing feasibility study funded by TDA on CNS/ATM in the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The studies are particularly appropriate as air traffic management is an issue that is best approached from a regional point of view.

Under the other TDA grant agreement, $270,000 will be awarded to the Polish state-owned Zaklady Chemiczne ZACHEM company, which is located in Bydgoszcz, to partially fund a feasibility study to modernize and expand the existing epichlorohydrin and allyl chloride chemical plant, and add to it the production of epichlorohydrin and allyl chloride derivatives. The modernization of the plant's manufacturing of 30,000 tons per year of epichlorohydrin and allyl chloride will improve ZACHEM's productivity and environmental record. At the same time, increasing the plant's epichlorohydrin and allyl chloride capacity by 5,000 tons per year is necessary for the production of higher quality derivative chemicals, which are used as adhesives in making paper and for other industrial processes. Zaklady Chemiczne ZACHEM will contribute $60,000 toward the cost of the feasibility study.

Through these grants, TDA is demonstrating the U.S. Government's commitment to close governmental cooperation with Poland in the commercial sphere that was agreed to during the recent state visit by President Kwasniewski to Washington, D.C. This cooperation builds on prior successes: since 1990, TDA has provided more than $23 million in funding for a variety of activities benefiting Poland, including feasibility studies, technical assistance and orientation visits, more than TDA has provided for any other European nation.

The U.S. Trade and Development Agency promotes American private sector participation in developing and middle-income countries, with special emphasis on economic sectors that represent significant U.S. export potential. By funding various forms of technical assistance, training grants, feasibility studies, orientation visits, and business workshops, TDA helps American businesses compete for infrastructure projects in emerging markets. In addition, the agency promotes capacity building initiatives and supports U.S. government trade, economic policy and development objectives around the world.

The U.S. Embassy is located at Al. Ujazdowskie 29/31 in Warsaw. For more information on media coverage of this event, please contact the Commercial Section of the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw at +48.22.625.4374.

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