The Gdynia Maritime University Offshore Centre is taking shape. The foundations and ground floor walls are already in place as the construction work continues on schedule.
The development of the GMU Offshore Centre on Gdansk’s Roberta de Plelo street is one of the University’s strategic goals for the period 2020-2024. The Centre will provide the infrastructure and facilities for specialist research and development work to be carried out for the needs of the innovative maritime industry. Gdynia Maritime University is currently one of only a few Universities in the country involved in such work.
Located near the Wisłoujście fortress, the Centre will be made up of two two-floor buildings linked together by a first-floor skyway. Due to the poor bearing capacity of the soil at the site, 775 concrete pillars have been used to reinforce the ground when laying the foundations.
Before work on the foundations could begin, it was also necessary to remove and relocate the teletechnical ducts which were installed in August 2021. A month later, within the foundations of the lobby, where a crane will operate in the future, pillars more than 18m in length were formed. The foundations were then laid using 820m3 of concrete and 80,000 kg of reinforcing steel.
At the same time, work was ongoing on insulating the foundations, installing interior linings, as well as work related to the installation of sewage pipes. In November, work also began to erect the reinforced concrete walls of what will be the second floor of the 2nd building. This stage of the construction is now 40% complete.
The building work is being carried out with the support of two tower cranes. The cranes have very large lifting capacities and will enable prefabricated ceilings to be installed as the development progresses. Due to the proximity of the shipping channel to the site, one of the cranes can’t rotate over the canal, where large ships enter the port and has to be anchored at the end of the day to avoid stopping the shipping traffic.
The GMU Offshore Centre will house the certified laboratories of GMU’s Maritime Institute, the operation of which is part of the process of the preparation and realisation of investment in offshore wind power. As part of his speech given on University Celebration Day, GMU Rector Professor Adam Weintrit highlighted the role of the University in supporting the development of the offshore wind energy sector.
– It is our intention to contribute to the creation of a local Polish supply chain for the offshore industry. We will do everything to ensure that the Offshore Centre will become a root in the growth of a “Polish Offshore Valley” – he said during the ceremonial sitting of the Senate.
The value of the Offshore Centre investment, including the equipment, is estimated at 50m PLN. The construction work is due to be completed by March 2023.
Source: Gdynia Maritime University
