Dębicki Canal – contract signed with ZMPSiŚ

Zarząd Morskich Portów Szczecin i Świnoujście SA and the consortium of NDI Sp. z o.o. and NDI SOPOT S.A. signed a contract for the implementation of the investment entitled “Improving access to the Port of Szczecin in the area of the Dębicki Canal”.

The document was signed by: on behalf of ZMPSiŚ SA, Krzysztof Urbaś, President of the Management Board and Jacek Cichocki, Vice President for Development, and on behalf of NDI, President Małgorzata Winiarek-Gajewska.
This investment is one of the flagship projects implemented by the ZMPSiŚ in the Port of Szczecin. Its aim is to obtain a potential for bulk cargo transhipment increased in terms of quality and quantity through the construction of a new Norweskie Quay (constituting an extension of the line of the already existing Fińskie Quay, which serves as a container terminal) and the modernization of the existing Czeskie and Słowackie Quays along with the modernization of technical infrastructure at the quays’ immediate facilities and their adaptation to a technical depth of 12.5 m.

Moreover, in order to secure the shore of Ostrów Grabowski and further extend the line of the Norwegian Quay in the future, it is planned to build an embankment with capping with a length of approx. 600 m (future name – Duńskie Quay).

Currently, the Czeskie and Słowackie Quays are the most intensely used bulk cargo quays in the Port of Szczecin, and the scope of the investment will ensure that their parameters are adjusted to handle the largest ships that will be able to call at the port in Szczecin, after the Świnoujście-Szczecin fairway is modernised to a depth of 12.5 m.

The common element for all quays is the extension of the Dębicki Canal to a width of 200 m (currently 120 m), by removing earth along the entire section of the western shore of Ostrów Grabowski and deepening the basin to a technical depth of 12.5 m. This will enable the quays to be adapted to the parameters of the modernized Świnoujście -Szczecin fairway. The amount of soil to be transported is as much as 1.5 million m3 (800,000 from the new quay and 700,000 from the remaining parts of the canal).

As a part of the investment to improve access to the port in Szczecin, in the area of the Dębicki Canal and the Kaszubski Basin, excavated material landfills are being built in Ostrów Grabowski, which will serve as a base for depositing excavated material. The project “Improving access to the Port of Szczecin in the area of the Dębicki Canal” is co-financed by the European Union from the Cohesion Fund under the Operational Programme Infrastructure and Environment. The cost of work is PLN 343.1 million. The investment is to be ready by September 30, 2023.

Krzysztof Urbaś, President of the Management Board of Zarząd Morskich Portów Szczecin i Świnoujście SA: “In the Port of Szczecin, we are carrying out projects related to the deepening of the fairway to 12.5 m, which is an investment of the Maritime Office. Although the deepening of the fairway itself is a task falling under the responsibility of the Maritime Office in Szczecin, the role of the Port Authority is to adapt the port quays in Szczecin to the new parameters of the fairway. With this investment, the Port of Szczecin gains a new quality. We will gain new areas that we can successfully use and develop for port purposes. More quays mean more terminals and a further increase in the transhipment capacity, and thus, more goods in our ports. This investment is also an introduction to the further development of the western part of Ostrów Grabowski. If we manage to implement all these investment plans, then in 2050 we will have the potential in the Szczecin-Świnoujście port complex that can handle almost three times more cargo than today.”

Małgorzata Winiarek Gajewska, President of NDI: – “We are glad that we will be able to implement this very interesting project in the Port of Szczecin. The concluded contract is for us another big project in the hydraulic engineering industry. Currently, we are implementing a shipping channel through the Vistula Spit, and we have completed the construction of the T2 Quay for the Deepwater Container Terminal in the Port of Gdańsk. As a Polish company from a coastal area, we are particularly interested in the development of the hydraulic engineering industry, and we strive to prepare as best as possible for the implementation of subsequent tasks through the development of our staff as well as the purchase of specialised equipment for working in the water. Our staff is already mobilised, and we will start preparatory work soon. It includes ferromagnetic checking, preparation of the construction facilities along with storage yards, and the first demolition work on the quays.”