PORR S.A. to upgrade two more quays at the Port of Gdańsk
The President of the Port of Gdańsk, Krzysztof Kaczmarek, signed two agreements with PORR S.A. for the upgrade of Rudowe and Bytomskie Quays. The total length of the quays to be reconstructed is over 450 metres. The investment is part of a larger project that has been co-financed by Connecting Europe Facility 2021-2027 (CEF 2). The completion of this project will help boost the competitiveness of the Port of Gdańsk, increasing its potential for handling cargo and general throughput.
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’. It envisages the reconstruction of four quays of the Inner Port, with a total length of 1,916 metres, together with the necessary underground and rail infrastructure. The first two quays to be rebuilt are Bytomskie Quay, located along the Port Channel, and Rudowe quay, located in the Mining Basin. Other quays (Wiślane and Węglowe) are due for an upgrade at a later date, once the tender procedures have been completed.
The total value of the agreements signed today for the execution of the construction works is PLN 142 million gross, of which PLN 51 million is for Bytomskie Quay and PLN 91 million for Rudowe Quay. The investment is to be completed in less than two years.
‘These are old and worn-out structures. Rudowe Quay was built over 80 years ago, between the late 1930s and the early 1940s. It has only undergone ad hoc renovations. Due to its poor technical condition (including the sheet piles), part of the quay was closed for ship handling and cargo handling in 2019. Bytomskie Quay is slightly newer, as the slab section, which is currently in operation, was built almost 60 years ago’, says Stefan Rudnik, director of the Investment Division of the Port of Gdańsk Authority SA. ‘The execution of dredging work and the increased depth at the quays opens up the possibility of handling larger vessels at the facilities, which may have a positive impact on handling volumes’.
The expansion of Rudowe Quay III, which is about to start, is going to include a 232.5 m-long section and an 18 m-long section of Administracyjne Quay. The project envisages a new quay with a slab structure supported on a grid of reinforced concrete piles, with steel combined sheet piles at the front. The quay will also feature a 265 m rail track. As a result of the dredging work, part of the Mining Basin will be deepened to 11.20 m (currently the depth is between 6.1 and 10.2 m).
‘The quay will have a higher load-bearing capacity, and will be adapted to carry out cargo handling with the largest self-propelled LHM 550 and Mantsinen 300 cranes. Thanks to the deepening of part of the basin, ships with a maximum draught of 10.60 m and a load-bearing capacity of up to 35,000 DWT will be able to berth there’, says Artur Dziambor, a spokesperson of the Port of Gdańsk.
Unlike Rudowe Quay, Bytomskie Quay is currently used for ship handling and cargo handling. Due to the unsatisfactory technical condition of the existing slab section of the quay, and to allow larger vessels to berth, ZMPG has decided to rebuild it. Two sections will be upgraded: the slab section, which is approximately 143 m long, and the sloping section, which is 60 m long.
With this task, the quay will be extended to 203 m by land reclamation of the 60 m sloping quay. Like Rudowe Quay, the new Bytom Quay will have a slab structure supported on a grid of reinforced concrete piles, with steel combined sheet piles at the front. The quay will have a cement concrete surface reinforced with a dispersed reinforcement. As a result of dredging work aimed at deepening the section at the quay to 10.20 m (currently about 6 m), ships of up to 7,000 DWT and 120 m in length will be able to berth here. It will also be possible to adapt the quay to handle ships of up to 15,000 DWT and 145 m in length after the removal of the mooring dolphin and the communication pier of the existing mooring dolphin handling station.
For both quays, a new water supply network, rainwater sewage system with a purification system, electricity grid and new energy-efficient lighting will also be built. The quays will be equipped with point fenders and 100T mooring bollards. The construction of the quays is to be prepared for the subsequent implementation of an onshore power supply for ships during berthing – known as OPS.
We can see that, over the past three years, the Port of Gdańsk has completed two key investments, also co-financed by EU programmes. In the Inner Port, a 7 km long fairway was deepened and 5 km of quays were modernised. Meanwhile, the road and rail infrastructure in the Outer Port has been expanded. This task has included the construction of 7 km of roads, 10 km of tracks and 4 new viaducts. The total value of these investments is over PLN 700 million.
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PORR S.A. provides services in the area of general engineering construction, including facilities with a high degree of complexity in the field of hydraulic engineering construction. In terms of marine construction, it builds harbour quays, jetties, breakwaters, coastal reinforcement, retention basins and drop structures.
