Gdansk Shipyard to invest in production areas at the Central Port
Representatives of the Port of Gdansk Authority and the Gdansk Shipyard signed a letter of intent. The Shipyard is interested in investing in the production areas at the Central Port, the port authority said in a press release.
The Central Port will be one of the largest and most modern seaport investments in Europe. Deepwater terminals, including container, general cargo, passenger, and LNG terminals, will be constructed over an area of more than 400 ha of reclaimed land. In May, the PGA presented the finished concept for the development and adaptation of the new infrastructure. The premises of the Central Port will also include sections intended for the shipbuilding industry. And it is this opportunity that the Gdansk Shipyard wants to take.
"We have been holding talks with potential partners who would like to locate their businesses at the Central Port for months now. We have been meeting representatives of the largest companies from the maritime and logistics sector from all over the world. The letter of intent signed with the Gdansk Shipyard shows that serious entrepreneurs, also from Poland, are interested in our offer," explains Lukasz Greinke, President of the PGA.
The Port of Gdansk is currently the fourth largest port in the Baltic Sea. Reaching this position was possible thanks to record transshipments - in 2018, Gdansk's terminals and quays handled over 49 million tonnes of cargo. The construction of the Central Port is supposed to double the annual transshipment volume.
"The strategy of the Gdansk Shipyard, Baltic Operator, and GSG Towers companies involves diversification of production, which secures us against short-term fluctuations in demand in the market. Given the involvement of the Shipyard Group in the performance of an increasing number of contracts in the shipbuilding, offshore, wind energy, and infrastructure construction industries and taking into consideration the planned investments, we expect that within the next decade, our production area on the Ostrów Island may turn out to be insufficient, which is why we took note of the PGA's plans concerning the inclusion of a shipbuilding section in the Central Port concept with such interest," says Wojciech Peret, President of the Board of the Gdansk Shipyard, Baltic Operator, and GSG Towers.
The Central Port will include a basin covering about 1,400 ha and a reclaimed area covering 410 ha. The project involves the construction of nine terminals. Four turning areas and three approach fairways will also be built.
The construction of the Central Port in its final form presented in the concept will cost about PLN 12 billion, including expenditures on the part of the maritime administration - on the construction of new breakwaters, turning areas, and approach fairways. The Port Authority intends to carry out the investment as a public-private partnership. The first terminals may be ready as soon as 2029.