On 7 July 2025, the Port of Gdańsk and Korporacja Budowlana DORACO signed an agreement at the headquarters of Port of Gdańsk Authority SA for the implementation of one of the key investments in the Inner Port – the comprehensive reconstruction of the Vistula Quay. The total cost of the investment is PLN 351 million gross, and the completion of the works is planned for the second quarter of 2028.

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

– Investments of this type are very much needed and justified, and as a government we will support all kinds of initiatives that will 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 their work, so that the port of Gdańsk can record even higher transhipment volumes. We have data for the first half of the year – it is good, and even better for containers, and 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 transhipment capacity, improve the safety of its users and modernise its power, rail and road infrastructure. This will enable, among other things, the Inner Port to handle modern ships with a deadweight of up to 100,000 tonnes and a maximum draught of 10.6 m.

– 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 modernisation of the Vistula Quay is an example of an investment that not only increases the transhipment 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 and in Central and Eastern Europe – emphasises Dorota Pyć, President of the Port of Gdańsk.

A well-thought-out schedule

The investment will consist of three tasks:
I – Expansion of the Vistula Quay in the Port of Gdańsk;
II – Reconstruction of the road and rail system for sugar storage and packaging facilities at the Vistula Quay on Chodackiego Street in the Port of Gdańsk;
III – Reconstruction of the transport system, including the construction of a manoeuvring and parking area in the vicinity of the intersection of Chodackiego, Handlowa and Starowiślna Streets.

The first task, i.e. the expansion of the Vistula Quay in the Port of Gdańsk, is part of a larger project entitled ‘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). The 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 three quays has already begun: Rudowy III, Bytomski and Węglowy. Now it is time to renovate the Vistula Quay, which is key to the Inner Port and where the following companies operate: Port Gdański Eksploatacja, Krajowa Grupa Spożywcza (Sugar Terminal) and Speed.

The first task will begin in July this year. It will involve the comprehensive expansion of the Vistula Quay, approximately 920 m long, in order to increase its capacity to handle ships with higher tonnage. After the modernisation, the quay will be able to handle deep-sea vessels with a deadweight of 35,000 and 100,000 tonnes. The project also involves deepening the bottom of the quay to a technical depth of 12.0 m. The designed quay structure will enable modern port equipment used for transhipment, including mobile cranes, to move along it. In addition, DORACO will construct the quay surface and lighting, water supply and sewage systems, install fender and mooring devices, crane rails and a railway track system. The general contractor will also provide power outlets for transhipment cranes.

Another task for DORACO will be the reconstruction of the road and rail system for sugar transport at the Vistula Quay on Chodackiego Street. The construction of a universal port terminal will enable the unloading of, among other things, specialised containers with sugar transported on railway platforms, the storage and transhipment of sugar, and its packaging at the base, followed by the loading of conventional ships and specialised BIBO vessels. This stage will also include the construction and installation of transformer station equipment, which will provide adequate power supply for the port infrastructure, as well as the construction, programming and commissioning of port scales, guaranteeing precise measurements and efficiency of logistics processes. An important element of the works will also 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 transhipments by adapting the parameters of the streets to technical requirements, including anticipated loads. DORACO will also build a port guardhouse, rebuild the gas network, and develop and implement the target traffic organisation for the entire road and rail system.

DORACO will ensure the continuity of port operations during the modernisation and address environmental issues

As part of the investment, the general contractor will ensure the efficient implementation of the works in stages, guaranteeing uninterrupted transhipment and storage of materials in the storage yards in the area of the Vistula Quay.

During the preparatory stage, the contractor will check the area for ferromagnetic objects, thus mitigating the risk of carrying out the works, and unexploded ordnance and duds from World War II will be located, removed and disposed of. The entire investment will also be carried out under archaeological supervision and in accordance with the environmental decision and the highest environmental protection standards.

– From today, the heartbeat of the DORACO team will begin to beat in time with the schedule for the modernisation of the Vistula Quay in the Port of Gdańsk. The signatures on the contract today confirm that the Polish team of experts is ready to implement such a complex hydrotechnical investment, which will pump new commercial and logistical opportunities into the Polish bloodstream and will also have a positive impact on the security of our country, including food security – sums up Angelika Cieślowska, President of the Management Board of Korporacja Budowlana DORACO. – Hydrotechnical investments in Polish ports are particularly close to our hearts. The contract for the Vistula Quay will allow us to fully utilise the expertise we have been building at DORACO in the field of hydrotechnology for over 30 years, and in addition, we will once again raise our national know-how in this sector and provide employment for local entities. We will commission a quay that will not only effectively meet today’s needs, but also set the course for the future of the Polish maritime economy for the next several decades.

Source: DORACO