Geography-based guarantee of success for the Port of Gdansk

12.03.2008

A year of surprises and conclusions

Discussing the obvious is arguably the most difficult task of all. This is one of the reasons why the discourse that has taken place among the port businesses and organisations over the impact of the 1996 Act on Seaports and Harbours on the present status quo in the field of port services has failed to provide an explicit response in this respect. Since we realize that each of the Polish ports has its own specific profile, it seems unreasonable to reduce them to the lowest common denominator by applying a uniform approach. Many years ago, the Port of Gdansk had been appointed to operate as a bulk port which has now resulted in reduced utilisation of its throughput capacity. Due to the fact that our port has been listed among the companies of strategic importance to the economy, which has not been coupled by including it in Poland's power supply safety programme, the Gdansk port along with its management board has been put on the sidelines of the fuel supply issue.

A significant decline in demand for Polish coal and a reduced turnover at the Northern Port have come as an effect of the absence of cold winters, modernisation of heating and power technologies and, last but not least, more stringent environment protection regulations and competitive prices. Changes in the liquid fuel supply diversification policy have dramatically affected the turnover of crude oil and oil derivatives. Since statistical data reported by the Port of Gdansk have so far indicated bulk cargo volumes as prevailing, they have now urged us to step up the implementation of development strategies produced by our analysts. This however requires that the view of our port's operation generally held in the minds of policy-makers and economy managers be modified.

Poland's presence in the European Union - not only in formal terms, but also increasingly more noticeable in terms of economic activity - has presented us with opportunities which we cannot afford to ignore. The accelerated completion of infra and supra structural investments open up another chance for the Gdansk port to achieve a leading position in the field of cargo handling in this part of Europe. The favourable geographical location of the port is a reliable guarantee of success in the world trade globalization process. This guarantee is further enhanced by the modernization of quays, dredging of fairways in port canals and improved road and rail access to the port, which have been co-financed by the EU funds under the Operational Programme - Infrastructure and Environment. Earlier on, we successfully applied for SOP-T funds that enabled us to expand the Port Free Zone storage capacity, to widen the port entrance and to launch a ferry terminal on Westerplatte. To our satisfaction, we have started the cooperation with a British investor and, with phase one of the project now completed, we have already seen container carriers and Ro-Ro vessels arrive at a new Deepwater Container Terminal. Gdansk maintains the leading position among the Polish ports in terms of utilizing EU funds. Negotiations are effectively in progress aiming to provide the Liquid Fuel Logistics Centre and the Pomeranian Logistics Centre in Gdansk. The location of our port has raised considerable interest among investors from China whose expansion into Europe heralds the upcoming transformations in cargo flows. The increasingly prevailing technology of intermodal transportation coupled in Gdansk by hub port facilities comprise the future vision that is the primary focus of attention for the Port of Gdansk Authority.

The above statements indicate that a change of such immense proportions in the approach and understanding of the role that over the recent years has been allocated to the Polish ports in general - and to the Port of Gdansk in particular - requires adequate assistance from the government programmes. Even though we can handle large-scale investment projects inside the port in our own capacity e.g. finding a reliable partner, our efforts must coincide with the construction of the A-1 Motorway, Sucharski Route, South Ring Road, a tunnel under the Vistula canal, the construction of a railway bridge and new railway approaches to terminals... which lie in the responsibility of the government of the Republic of Poland. We look forward in anticipation to the delivery of these projects and to the decisions concerning oil supplies.

The development of the Gdansk port is a matter of direct interest to the national economy. Building on the analyses of trends in trade over the last decades, we look to the future with confidence. Europe's new political and economic landscape favours Gdansk in the race to attract more cargo.The vibrant market however along with a great demand for our services induces higher quality standards both within the port and in the minds of ministry officials. There is no point in drawing conclusions from this month's year-on-year decline or growth in cargo handling... Based on a short period of time, such conclusions may prove erroneous. On the other hand, long-term analyses that have been carried out by our specialists show clearly that we can be pleased and satisfied with our determination in transforming the Gdansk port into a versatile and universal port facility that can offer increasingly more advanced technologies of cargo handling while taking account of both bulk and unified cargo. This is to the effect that the throughput capacity of the Inner Port in Gdansk has been utilized to the maximum. Once the perspectives resulting from the vast development land owned by the port and based on the reasonable plans available at hand have been duly recognized and appreciated by external authorities and organizations, the current year, a year full of surprises, will end with a positive balance.