Port of Gdańsk and DORACO sign agreement to reconstruct Wiślane Quay

On 7 July 2025, Port of Gdańsk and Korporacja Budowlana DORACO signed an agreement at the registered office of ZMPG S.A. for the execution of one of the key investments in the Inner Port – the comprehensive reconstruction of Wiślane Quay. The total cost of the investment is PLN 351 million gross, and the work is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2028.

The agreement was signed by representatives of the Management Board of the Port of Gdańsk – the President, Dorota Pyć, and the Vice-President for Finance and Security, Alan Aleksandrowicz, as well as representatives of DORACO – the President of the Management Board, Angelika Cieślawska, and the Vice-President of the Management Board, Jacek Kamiński.

‘Investments of this type are very much needed and justified, and as the government we shall support all kinds of initiatives that increase the potential of Polish seaports’, said Arkadiusz Marchewka, Deputy Minister of Infrastructure, who was present at the meeting. ‘I am keeping my fingers crossed for the contractors and I hope that in a few months we will be able to see the results of the work, so that the port of Gdańsk can record even higher cargo handling volumes. We have data for the first half of the year – it looks good, and the container figures are even better, so I am convinced that this type of investment will allow us to increase this potential even further’.

The project aims to increase the port’s cargo handling capacity, improve the safety of its users and upgrade the power, rail and road infrastructure. This is going to enable the Inner Port to handle modern ships with a deadweight of up to 100,000 tonnes and a maximum draught of 10.6 metres.

‘We are building the resilience of the Port of Gdańsk through investments. This is our response to the dynamic economic environment, the changing needs of our partners and the need to adapt to the requirements of modern logistics.  The upgrade of Wiślane Quay is an example of an investment that not only increases the cargo handling efficiency and logistical efficiency of port operations, but also prepares our infrastructure for the use of green technologies.  This is a strategic direction that strengthens our position as a modern transport hub in the Baltic Sea as well as Central and Eastern Europe’, said Dorota Pyć, President of the Port of Gdańsk.

A well-thought-out schedule

The investment essentially comprises 3 tasks:

I – Extension of Wiślane Quay in the Port of Gdańsk;

II – Reconstruction of the road-rail system for the sugar storage and packaging facilities at Wiślane Quay, Chodackiego Street in the Port of Gdansk;

III – Reconstruction of the traffic system with the construction of a manoeuvring and parking square in the area of the intersection of the following streets: Chodackiego, Handlowa and Starowiślna.

Task one involves the extension of Wiślane Quay in the Port of Gdansk; a part of a larger project: ‘Improvement of the infrastructure of the Port of Gdańsk, including an analysis of the implementation of a low-emission OPS system for the sustainable development of the TEN-T network’, co-financed in 85% from EU funds under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF 2). This project involves the comprehensive reconstruction of a total of almost 2 km of quays in the Inner Port, as part of which the reconstruction of the three following quays has already begun: Rudowe III, Bytomskie and Węglowe. Now it is time to renovate Wiślane Quay, which is crucial for the Inner Port and where the following companies operate: Port Gdański Eksploatacja, Krajowa Grupa Spożywcza (Sugar Terminal) and Speed.

The first task is set to commence in July this year, and is going to involve the comprehensive extension of Wiślane Quay by approximately 920 m in order to increase its capacity to handle ships with a higher tonnage. After the upgrade, the quay will be able to handle deep-sea vessels with a deadweight of 35,000 and 100,000 tonnes. The project also envisages deepening the bottom at the quay to a technical depth of 12.0 m. The designed quay structure shall enable modern port equipment to be used for cargo handling, including mobile cranes, to move everything around it. Moreover, DORACO is set to construct the quay surface and lighting, water supply and sewage networks, install fender and mooring equipment, crane rails and a railway track layout. The general contractor shall also provide power supply sockets for cargo handling cranes.

Another task for DORACO is to reconstruct the road and rail system for sugar transport at Wiślane Quay on Chodackiego Street. The construction of a universal port terminal shall enable the unloading of, for example, specialised containers with sugar transported on railway platforms, the storage and cargo handling of sugar and its packaging at the depot, and then loading onto conventional ships and specialised BIBO vessels. This stage also includes the construction and assembly of transformer station equipment to ensure an adequate power supply for the port infrastructure, as well as the construction, programming and commissioning of port scales to guarantee precise measurements and the efficiency of the logistics processes. Another important element of the works will be the construction of a new railway system with crossings and traffic control elements.

The third stage of the design work concerns the reconstruction of the transport system, including the construction of a manoeuvring and parking area in the vicinity of the intersection of Chodackiego, Handlowego and Starowiślna Streets. The aim of this task is to improve the safety of port users and the efficiency of handling by adapting the parameters of the streets to the technical requirements, including anticipated loads. DORACO is going to build a port guardhouse, rebuild the gas network, and both develop and implement the final traffic organisation for the entire road and rail network.

DORACO to ensure the continuity of port operations during the upgrade process and take care of environmental issues.

As part of the investment, the general contractor shall ensure the efficient implementation of the work divided into stages, guaranteeing uninterrupted cargo handling and storage of materials at the storage yards in the Wiślane Quay area.

During the preparatory stage, the contractor will check the site for ferromagnetic objects, which will mitigate the risk of conducting work, and allow unexploded ordnance from World War II to be located, removed and neutralised. The entire investment will be carried out under archaeological supervision and in accordance with the environmental decision and the highest environmental protection standards.

‘As of today, the DORACO team’s pulse starts to beat in time with the schedule for the upgrade of Wiślane Quay in the Port of Gdańsk. The signatures placed on the agreement today confirm that the Polish team of experts is ready to carry out such a complex hydrotechnical investment, which shall pump new commercial and logistical opportunities into the Polish economy and have a positive impact on the security of our country, including food security’, stated Angelika Cieślowska, President of the Management Board of Korporacja Budowlana DORACO. ‘Hydrotechnical investments in Polish ports are particularly dear to us. The contract for Wiślane Quay allows us to fully utilise the expertise we have been building at DORACO in the field of hydro technology for over 30 years, and, on top of that, we can once again raise our national know-how in this sector and provide work for local entities. We shall deliver a quay that not only effectively meets today’s needs, but also sets the course for the future of the Polish maritime economy over the next few decades’.