A great investment at the Port of Gdańsk has been completed

10 km of roads, 7 km of tracks, 14 turnouts, 7 engineering structures, including road flyovers and protective culverts on PERN and LOTOS fuel pipelines, a buffer car park for heavy goods vehicles– a key investment with a total net value of PLN 166 million is nearing completion. The general contractor, NDI based in Sopot, only needs to perform cleaning works at the Port of Gdańsk, and also acceptance works are underway. On Wednesday (March 17) afternoon, the first trucks travelled along the target road system on Kontenerowa Street. Its cross-section is currently two roadways with two lanes each.

“This is a huge undertaking of key importance for the Port of Gdańsk. We carry out this investment with our current and future partners in mind, so that their transhipment processes are as efficient as possible. It is about the construction of new roads and track systems leading from the PKP Port Północny railway station to the gates of individual terminals. In the case of the largest of them, i.e. the DCT, there will be two dedicated tracks. In addition, the road investment that has just been completed will lead traffic from the terminal further to the south of Poland without the risk of collisions. Importantly, it is a completely new road system that will enable collision-free vehicle traffic, which is extremely important with such a large volume of freight traffic. Two dedicated roadways in a 2 plus 2 arrangement to the container terminal will ensure that the exit of the containers will meet the highest European standards. The only place from the exit from the terminal where you have to slow down will be the motorway toll gates. Our investment fits perfectly with the projects implemented by the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways, which are coordinated at the government level by the Ministry of Infrastructure. The A1 motorway connecting the Czech Republic with the Polish coast of the Baltic Sea and the Port of Gdańsk is already 85% ready. Already in 2022, you will be able to drive the motorway directly from the Port of Gdańsk to Ostrava, Brno and Prague, the Czech Republic, as well as Bratislava, Slovakia, without any traffic lights.” says Łukasz Greinke, President of the Port of Gdańsk. Works at the Port of Gdańsk started in August 2018, and according to the contract, they are to end in May 2021. During this time, the general contractor carried out the subsequent stages of work, while the port and all transhipment bases have remained fully operational.

“Logistics was the biggest challenge for us in this project,” says Maciej Szymański, the construction manager from NDI. ”Often works were carried out 24 hours a day, for example, to restore train traffic to the DCT terminal in the shortest possible time. We carried out the works in practically all industries and we had to keep the port operational at all times. It was possible thanks to the excellent cooperation with the Investor, i.e. Zarząd Morskiego Portu Gdynia, and the Contract Engineer, SWECO,” adds Maciej Szymański. The main construction works were completed as early as last year. The last few months are finishing works and paving works on Kontenerowa Street. At the construction site at the Port of Gdańsk, the builders used 40,000 tonnes of bituminous mass, 13,000 m3 of structural concrete, 860 tonnes of reinforcing steel and 1,200 tonnes of rails.

“The investment which is about to be completed is not only beneficial to the largest deepwater container terminal in this region of the Baltic Sea, but also, due to its enormous scope, to the entire area of the Outer Port, in which the majority of transhipments in the Port of Gdańsk take place. This investment is a part of the largest investment program at the Port of Gdańsk since the late 1970s, the value of which is over PLN 750 million. At the same time, the Port of Gdańsk is not slowing down, and further investments in quays as well as road and rail infrastructure are planned, which will allow the investments in port infrastructure to exceed PLN 1 billion,” says Lech Paszkowski, Director of the Development and Investments Department at the Port of Gdańsk.

As part of the project to expand the road and rail system at the Outer Port carried out by NDI for Port of Gdańsk, the following streets have been reconstructed: Portowa, Poinca, Kontenerowa and Budowniczych Portu Północnego. Four new flyovers have been constructed and two existing ones demolished (including one over active railway tracks and the other over a set of fuel supply pipes of PERN, LOTOS and Naftoport). An additional track to the DCT terminal, new tracks to coal terminals, and a modern rail traffic control system were implemented. A buffer car park for heavy goods vehicles has also been built – the first one in this part of the Port.