Addleshaw Goddard’s infrastructure and energy practice has been active across Central and Eastern Europe, with projects spanning battery storage, energy investments and motorways in Poland, disputes in Romania, and offshore wind development in Lithuania, according to Partner Marton Eorsi who highlights the growing necessity of private sector involvement in CEE, particularly in transport, energy transition, and urban mobility.
CEELM: What work has been keeping your energy practice busy over the past year?
Eorsi: It’s been a particularly active year for our infrastructure and energy practice in CEE. To give you some examples, we’re currently working on a battery storage project, and we have been advising on several disputes in the energy sector, in particular in Romania. We were also involved in significant energy investments in Poland, including energy from waste, nuclear, EV charging, and geothermal. We have advised MOL, the leading Hungarian integrated oil and gas company, on a prospective acquisition of an upstream interest, and we have advised on an offshore wind project in Lithuania.
Beyond the CEE region, our infrastructure work spans our 20 global offices. For example, in the Middle East, we are engaged in the gigaprojects in Saudi Arabia and other large-scale desalination, transport, and renewables projects, while in Asia, much of our work involves renewables and construction projects and disputes, often working with key players of the global infrastructure and energy supply chain. In Spain, we are working for Hispasat on the agreement for the creation of SpaceRISE, a consortium formed by Eutelsat, SES, and Hispasat, and on the agreements with the European Commission and the European Space Agency for the launch of IRIS (Satellite Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security Infrastructure), the European Union’s constellation of secure satellites. This will be the first-ever public-private partnership (PPP) in the aerospace sector in Europe. In France, we are advising on a large number of projects, including offshore wind and submarine optical cable infrastructure. In the UK, we were busy in the water, transport, and health sectors, as well as energy (including hydrogen and battery storage) and PPP handback projects.
CEELM: What has been the primary driver behind these levels of activity?
Eorsi: In CEE, infrastructure and energy markets are not homogenous in the sense that some governments actively involve the private sector in financing and delivering these projects while others rely more on the public sector. Right now, the trend that we are seeing is an increase in transport-related PPP projects, including roads and railways, as well as social and healthcare infrastructure. At the same time, energy transition is driving major projects across the region. Governments and investors are looking at renewables, such as offshore wind, solar, and hydrogen, as part of a broader move away from fossil fuels.
Whilst the infrastructure in CEE improved markedly in the last few decades, there remains a significant infrastructure gap in the infrastructure capital stock when compared to that of Western Europe. The average value of capital stock per capita in Western Europe is over USD 26 million, whereas in the CEE, this is less than USD 15 million. According to some estimates, CEE would need to invest EUR 65-75 billion every year for 10 years to catch up, and this estimate does not include an additional EUR 50 billion per year to maintain existing infrastructure. These amounts also exclude the gargantuan sum required to deliver the energy transition. With an aging population putting increased pressure on taxation, governments recognize that private sector involvement is no longer optional but essential. This is opening up opportunities for long-term investors in infrastructure and energy, including energy transition and social infrastructure projects.
CEELM: Apart from that, are there any other sectors of note in the mix?
Eorsi: Absolutely. The transport sector has been a focal point for investment across CEE. We are currently looking at the Czech pipeline with great interest, particularly the proposed railway link between Vaclav Havel Airport and Prague’s city center, and a range of other railway and highway projects. These include the modernization of the Prague-Kladno rail link, the construction of a double track, as well as the electrification and implementation of the European Train Control System.
Poland is also a major hub of activity. The recent announcement to open our own office in Warsaw is a testament to our interest in the region and Poland in particular. With our new office in Warsaw, we have added a leading energy and infrastructure practice to our global platform. There, we have been working on several waste-to-energy plants, a fast tramway system in Krakow, motorway projects, geothermal, and EV charging. We have also advised on the first Polish nuclear power plant. We are also actively looking at other planned developments like the Central Airport project.
Serbia and Lithuania are also leading the way in government-driven PPP projects, and we expect to see increased activity in these markets over the next few years.
CEELM: Finally, what do you think the next 12 months will look like?
Eorsi: The outlook is positive, though not all CEE countries are progressing at the same pace. Some governments fully embrace PPP structures, while others remain a bit more cautious. For example, Poland is increasingly embracing PPPs as an essential component of its investment landscape. According to a report by the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy, 19 PPP agreements valued at nearly PLN 557 million were signed in 2024. While this might seem modest, it represents the most successful outcome in the past five years, signaling optimism for future growth. We expect activity in the municipal sector, the decarbonization of heating plants, port infrastructure, interconnectors, and energy storage. We also expect investment opportunities in social infrastructure like housing and urban regeneration.
For these projects to be successful, it is key to be able to attract the broadest possible universe of equity and debt investors and unlock the vast pools of capital available in global financial centers like London. Local expertise and familiarity with international best practices are essential for these projects to be investable and bankable.
We expect continued strong interest in the Czech Republic, Poland, Serbia, and Lithuania, particularly in the energy, transport, and digital infrastructure space. Specialist infrastructure investors, as well as supply chains, are actively looking for high-value projects in the CEE, and debt funding sources are also eager to finance infrastructure projects in the region.
