The Port of Gdansk is announcing today that key projects within the largest investment programme in its history, covering €1.3 billion of infrastructure investments, will be completed in 2021, the company said in its release.
Port of Gdansk President Łukasz Greinke said the improvements, which number almost 40 projects, are a giant leap forward as it seeks to establish its position as the pre-eminent Baltic port with access to a hinterland and foreland of 120 million people reaching across Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Ukraine, Belarus and Scandinavia.
Mr Greinke said the investments focus on the ‘Inner Port’ and ‘Outer Port’ areas and are crucial to its ambition to compete with the deep seaports of Western Europe and grow cargo handling capacity to more than 60million tonnes within five years. He said this target remains on course after the port rebounded strongly to the covid crisis managing around 48.5million tonnes of cargo in 2020, despite the global slowdown. The robust performance means Gdansk is now officially in the top 20 biggest ports in Europe for the first time.
Mr Greinke said the investments, which are in various stages of completion, are being driven by a group of public and private organisations working in partnership including the Port of Gdansk, the Maritime Office Gdynia, a Government agency managing the Gulf of Gdansk, and PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe the Polish railway infrastructure manager, as well as businesses based in the port. He said the most important and largest investments are being 85 per cent co-financed by the European Union through the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) instrument.
Mr Greinke said a very important investment due to complete in mid-2021 is the €163million (736 million zloty) extension and modernization of the road and rail network at the Outer Port.
Mr Greinke said the Inner Port investment is valued at €125million (570 million zloty) and is focused on the modernization of the fairway as well as the expansion of quays and the improvement of navigation conditions in the Inner Port.
Mr Greinke said another important investment in the Inner Port of more than €43million (196 million zl), also due to complete in the second half 2021, is the reconstruction of the Dworzec Drzewny Quay.
Mr Greinke said the investments in the Inner and Outer Ports will also help facilitate the development of plans for a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) LNG terminal in the Bay of Gdansk to be built in partnership between the Port of Gdansk, Gas System, Poland’s state gas pipeline operator and the Maritime Office in Gdynia.
The Port of Gdansk reported in November it had handled 36.2million tonnes in the first three quarters of the year to September and was on course to handle the same amount of cargo it did in 2018 and just under 52.2million tonnes it managed in 2019.
The port said the strong tonnage levels are testament to its agile set-up and infrastructure which enables it to transport cargo of all types adapting to changing market conditions. This includes imports of ore which have soared by 6344 per cent to September and grain volumes which have spiked by 174pc while other bulk cargos are up by nearly a quarter. The three cargo types have picked up the slack of reduced demand for fuel and coal across the port’s hinterland and foreland. The port reported that DCT Gdansk, as with many container ports, had seen a dip in container volume in 2020 but remains in a strong position as the only port on the Baltic capable of receiving direct calls from Asia, including from the biggest ships in the world. Major shipping lines operating regular calls to Gdansk include the Ocean Alliance, 2M as well as offering short sea connections to key trading areas like Scandinavia and the UK with Maersk, MSC, CMA, Cosco.
About Port of Gdansk
The Port of Gdansk is a major international transportation hub situated in the central part of the southern Baltic coast, which ranks among Europe’s fastest growing regions. According to the strategy of European Union the Port of Gdansk plays a significant role as a key link in the Trans-European Transport Corridor No. 1 connecting the Nordic countries with Southern and Eastern Europe. The Port of Gdansk is comprised of two principal sections with naturally diverse operational parameters: the inner port stretched along the Dead Vistula and the port canal, and the outer port affording direct access to the Gulf of Gdansk. The inner port offers a comprehensive range of terminals and facilities designed to handling containerised cargo, passenger ferries and Ro-Ro vessels, passenger cars and citrus fruit, sulphur, phosphorites and other bulk. The other quays fitted with versatile equipment and infrastructure are universal in use and enable the handling of conventional general as well as bulk cargo such as rolled steel products, oversize and heavy lifts, grain, artificial fertilizers, ore and coal. The outer port performs its operations on piers, quays and cargo handling jetties situated immediately on the waters of the Gulf of Gdansk. This section of the port offers state-of-the-art facilities suited to handling energy raw materials such as liquid fuels, coal and liquefied gas. The outer port also accommodates modern Deepwater Container Terminal.
About DCT Gdansk
DCT Gdansk container terminal enables Poland to be connected to the world’s largest shipping trade-lane; between Europe and Asia. A vital piece of investment ensuring that Polish goods can trade with Asia more efficiently, reducing cost, providing more competitive delivery times and a lower carbon footprint per container than alternative ports.
DCT does not just serve Poland but is also one of the most efficient ways to serve the Baltic Sea market via transshipment and is also the most cost competitive way to serve the hinterland markets of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Belarus and Western Ukraine.
In 2018 DCT Gdansk handled over 1.9m TEU (20-foot equivalent unit), with direct calls by the largest ships afloat. DCT Gdansk is the only terminal in the Baltic Sea capable of handling ships of this size. DCT Gdansk exceeded 2.0m TEU in 2019.
With a track-record of continuous development and expenditure in terminal infrastructure and modern handling equipment, DCT Gdansk is also actively involved in environmental and local community initiatives, recognizing the role of terminals in sustainable socio-economic development.
DCT was acquired in 2019 by the Singapore based PSA Group, one of the largest port operators in the world with a shareholding by the Polish Government investment arm PFR and Australian investment fund IFM.