More than PLN 82 million has been spent on the investment, which is part of the long-term investment strategy of the Management Board of the Port of Gdańsk concerning the development of the Inner Port. This project is definitely going to improve communication in the area of the Przemysłowe Quay on the land side, streamline cargo handling, and enable the commercialisation of new investment areas.

The press conference concluding the project took place on 7 December at the offices of the Northern Port Captain. The event was opened by Łukasz Malinowski, President of the Port of Gdańsk. ‘By developing access infrastructure from the land side, we are raising service standards, increasing competitiveness and strengthening our position in the Baltic. This type of project has a significant impact on the increase in cargo handling. By the end of November this year, a total of approximately 74.9 million tonnes had been handled in the Port of Gdańsk. This means that we handled 13 million tonnes more than in the same period of last year. According to Eurostat, we recorded the highest growth among European ports. We have overtaken, for example, Bremerhaven and Barcelona. Now, after the first quarter of 2023, we are in 5th place within the EU’.

Communication and commercialisation

The Port of Gdańsk has resembled a huge construction site in recent years. Not only is the Outer Port developing, with its deep-water and specialised handling terminals, but importantly also the Inner Port as well, which has a universal character. Last year a key project was completed involving the deepening of the fairway and the upgrading of more than 5 km of quays. This increased the permissible draught of ships entering the Inner Port. Now the time has come to finalise another project, aimed at future contractors and investors who would like to base their businesses in the Port of Gdańsk. This project is called ‘Extension and modernisation of the core network node in the port concerning accessible road and rail infrastructure’.

The project included the reconstruction of the railway and road systems between Przemysłowe Quay and Ku Ujście street and between Chemików street and the abutment of the ferry crossing along Bosmańska street through the Kaszubski Canal. This involved 1.6 km in upgraded and new roads and about 6 km in tracks. All road surfaces were made using cement concrete technology.

Apart from the above, the water, sanitary, electricity and teletechnical networks have also been rebuilt. A stormwater drainage system and street lighting have been created. New fencing of the area and two guard posts have also been built.

‘The project gave us the opportunity to develop a site that was previously unused. It has an area of approximately 10 ha. We are about to announce a tender procedure for its lease. Investors also appreciate the fact that Przemysłowe Quay has been connected to external roads’, says Łukasz Malinowski, President of the Port of Gdańsk.

Kamil Tarczewski, Vice-President of the Port of Gdańsk, admitted that the recently completed extension to the Przemysłowe Quay area concludes the largest investment programme implemented by the Port of Gdańsk since 2016, co-financed with EU funds.

‘Over the past few years, we have been meeting in a similar way to celebrate the completion of a number of investments. We have deepened and widened the fairway, built 5 km of quays in the Inner Port, and upgraded the road and rail system, which has improved access to the Outer Port. Today we are celebrating the completion of another important task, financed from EU funds. The road and rail systems have been upgraded to a new standard, including nearly 6 km of railway tracks and nearly 2 km of roads. It also includes the infrastructure development of further areas, which we are going to commercialise soon’, he said.

The total value of the project that has just been commissioned is around PLN 82 million, of which 20% was co-financed by the CEF ‘Connecting Europe’ programme. NDI Group was the general contractor.

‘I had the pleasure of visiting the port exactly two years ago, when work on this project had barely begun. Despite some initial challenges, the project was being implemented steadily. Adherence to the original schedule was a great success and demonstrated that timely completion is possible, particularly thanks to the experience and good decisions made by all parties. The projects carried out within the port have been complementary and now proceed in parallel. With EU support, the Port of Gdańsk is improving its accessibility from both land and sea. Together we are working towards a shared goal involving the optimal integration of maritime and rail transport along the TEN-T network, while taking into account the climate objectives of the European Green Deal and the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy’ , says Morten Jensen, representative of the European Executive Agency for Climate, Infrastructure and Environment (CINEA).

However, this is not the last of the projects in the Inner Port. ZMPG has received funding for the project ‘Improving the infrastructure of the Port of Gdansk with an analysis for implementing the low-emission OPS system for the sustainable development of the TEN-T network’. This project envisages the expansion of the Inner Port’s four quays, with a total length of nearly 2 km, together with the rail infrastructure. The Wiślane and Bytomskie quays are each located along the port channel, while the Rudowe III and partially the Węglowe quays are located in the Górniczy basin.

The projects carried out in the Inner Port prove that ZMPG is not just focusing on the Outer Port, which handles the largest cargo volumes, but also looks after customers operating at the universal quays.