Another quay at the Port of Gdańsk has a comprehensive upgrade
Rudowe Quay, a structure built over 80 years ago, has been demolished and replaced with a new quay that is over 250 metres long, equipped with modern hydrotechnical, railway and technical infrastructure. The project has increased the cargo handling capacity and throughput of the Port of Gdańsk, helping to increase its competitiveness.
Rudowe Quay, located in Górniczy Basin, was originally built in the late 1930s and early 1940s. During its more than 80 years of operation, it only underwent emergency repairs. Due to its deteriorating technical condition, in particular that of the steel sheet pile wall, part of the quay was closed to vessel traffic and cargo handling operations in 2019.
In March 2024, the Port of Gdansk Authority S.A. signed an agreement for the redevelopment of the quay with the general contractor, PORR S.A. The work took just over two years, and on 14 May 2026 the final acceptance report for the project was signed.
The reconstruction of Rudowe III Quay covered a 232.5-metre section plus an 18-metre section of Administracyjne Quay. As part of the project, a new quay was constructed using a slab structure, supported on a grid of reinforced concrete piles, with steel combined sheet piles at the front.
A 265-metre-long railway track was also built on the quay. As part of the dredging work, part of Górniczy Basin was dredged to a depth of 11.20 metres – the depth was previously between 6.1 and 10.2 metres.
The new quay design also allows for its capacity to be increased in the future, once the relevant administrative approvals have been obtained. The technical depth can be increased to 12.0 metres, the permissible depth to 13.5 metres, and the permissible load on the quay to 40 kN/m². This means that, in the future, it should be able to handle larger vessels than originally envisaged.
The dredging works and the increase in depth at the quay offer the possibility of handling larger vessels than before. Rudowe Quay can now handle ships with a maximum draught of 10.60 metres and a deadweight tonnage of up to 35,000 DWT. The quay has also been adapted to facilitate cargo handling operations using the largest mobile handling equipment, such as the Liebherr LHM 550 and Mantsinen 300.
‘Every upgraded quay increases the development potential of the Port of Gdańsk. By investing in the Inner Port, we create a modern infrastructure capable of meeting the demands of contemporary logistics and shipping. These investments result in greater throughput, higher operational efficiency, improved transport accessibility and increased attractiveness of the port areas for current and future business partners’, says Dorota Pyć, President of the Management Board of ZMPG S.A.
In order to reduce CO₂ emissions during cargo handling operations, the quay has been fitted with power sockets to supply electricity to the cranes. The scope of the investment has also included the construction of the quay surface, railway tracks, two access roads to the quay from Kujawska Street and de Plelo Street, a water main, a rainwater drainage system, a surface drainage system, lighting for the quay and adjacent areas, as well as an underground cable ducting system.
The quay has been fitted with point fenders and mooring bollards with a load-bearing capacity of 100 tonnes. Its structure is prepared for the later implementation of a system to power ships from shore while at berth – known as OPS (Onshore Power Supply).
Deputy Magdalena Sroka emphasised the strategic importance of the Port of Gdańsk for the national economy and the need to further increase its potential and competitiveness.
‘I have been hugely impressed for some time now by the developments here at the Port of Gdańsk. I wish to congratulate the Management Board, as the development of the Port of Gdańsk is of strategic importance to our entire economy. Successive projects show just how important it is to boost its potential. We must become more competitive so that we can more efficiently unload goods arriving from all over the world’.
Her remarks were echoed by the Deputy Mayor of Gdańsk, Piotr Grzelak, who highlighted the scale and pace of the projects underway at the port. He emphasised that the increasingly frequent ceremonies celebrating the completion of new projects are the best evidence of the determination of both the Management Board of the Port of Gdańsk and the Polish government, as well as the European Union, which co-finances such strategic investments.
The cost of the construction works at Rudowe Quay amounted to PLN 98 million.
Connecting Europe
The upgrade to Rudowe Quay is part of a larger project co-financed under the ‘Connecting Europe’ facility for the period from 2021 to 2027 (CEF 2).
The European Union has contributed almost €100 million to the project ‘Improving the Port of Gdańsk infrastructure with an analysis of the implementation of a low-carbon OPS system for the sustainable development network, TEN-T’.
The project involves the extension of five quays in the Inner Port, with a total length of 1,937.75 metres, together with the necessary underground and railway infrastructure.
The first phase involved the upgrade of two quays: Bytomskie Quay, located along the Port Channel, and Rudowe Quay, located in the Mining Basin. The next phases will see the upgrading of Zbożowe Quay, Wiślane Quay and Węglowe Quay.
