Construction of the DCT container terminal in the Port of Gdansk is getting under way

27.09.2005

Following the preliminary arrangements, that have taken over two years, the construction of a container terminal in the Port of Gdansk is now entering the crucial implementation phase. This has been facilitated through the talks on the investment project financing, that have concluded over the recent days. The Gdansk-based container terminal will obtain the financing from Macquarie Bank (Australia) and DVB Bank AG (Germany).

- The conclusion of the talks - emphasizes Andrzej Kasprzak, President of the Board of the Port of Gdansk Authority SA - in practical terms, entails the investor commencing the construction work aimed at developing the biggest in Poland investment project in the field of maritime economy. A container terminal boasting the parameters similar to the one currently under development in the Port of Gdansk is particularly needed for the Polish economy. Worldwide, sea transportation accounts for the shipment of 350 million containers on a yearly basis, whereas profits from container handling in this decade have shown a mean growth of 10% annually. Let me bring to mind that in the year 2004, the Port of Gdynia had processed 377 thou. TEU (20-feet containers), whilst the Port of Gdansk - over 41 thou. TEU. The rapid growth in turnover has proved significant, whereas the opportunities for an increased share in the global haulage - tremendous. Hence, the importance of the investment project under way in the Port of Gdansk can hardly be overestimated. A container terminal with its targeted throughput capacity of 1 million TEU provides the response to both contemporary and future market demands reflecting the role of the Port of Gdansk in the North-South Trans-European Transportation Network No 6.

The contract on the construction of a terminal was initialed by the Port of Gdansk Authority SA with the British consortium DCT Gdansk SA in February 2003. Once the approval was obtained from the Ministry of State Treasury in January 2004, Andrzej Kasprzak, President of the Port of Gdansk Authority SA and James Sutcliffe, President of DCT Gdansk SA signed a long-term contact (30 years with possible extension of another 30 years) of the port land tenancy, which stipulated that the British investor was to construct the largest in Poland deepsea container terminal. By the end of December 2004, the Pomeranian Governor signed the permission for constructing the terminal.

The design and building documentation of DCT terminal was drawn up by the consortium composed of the Gdansk-based Projmors Marine Construction and Design Company, as well as the Gdansk-based companies Wuprohyd and North-Investments Gdansk.

Selected from the pool of five candidates, the German construction Hochtief was named the main contractor for the project, with whom a contract was signed on developing the investment project. Numbered among the major international construction firms, it holds the portfolio of orders amounting to some EUR 13 billion and is ranked in ninth place among the world's biggest companies. A list of project developments accomplished by Hochtief (in the field of maritime economy) include a container terminal in Bremerhaven, port quays in Hamburg, investment projects in ports such as Elizabeth and Ngqura in South Africa, Seabird in India, naval ports in Oman and Kelang, Malasia. For nine years now, Hochtief has had its affiliate in Poland where it has implemented a large number of project developments ranging from housing, commercial malls and hotels through terminals and airports to railway stations and bridges. The German concern provides for the likely hiring of Polish and Dutch subcontractors, among them Dredging and Underwater Works Company in Gdansk or Petrobaltic. The first instances of such cooperation have already been observed during the preliminary phase of the investment project development.

DCT Terminal is to be located on a 710-meter long and 315-meter wide man-made pier, covering an area of 32 ha. The sand to be used for building the pier will come from dredging works. On the west side of the pier, a 40-metre wide handling quay will be provided with two berths designed for container carriers. The first section of the quay will be 385 metres long and given a 16.5-metre draught, whilst another section of 295 metres is to be given a 13.5-metre draught. On the east and west sides, the pier will be protected from waves by a coastal mound breakwater built from reinforced concrete blocks. On top of the upper part of the pier, a reinforced concrete surface will be placed. Underneath the quay, the ground coat is to be reinforced with steel piles providing the foundation for rails of four 50-metre jib shore overhead traveling cranes suited to unloading containers from ships. The pier slab will accommodate an open container storage yard serviced by mobile yard wheeled overhead traveling cranes. Apart from two berths for container carriers, a berth will be constructed set perpendicular to the pier and equipped with an inclined plane and a ramp tailored to handling Ro/Ro vessels. Besides the pier, open storage yards will be provided for holding empty containers, as well as a four-track railway siding and an access road complete with a road junction and maneuvering ground for motor vehicles.

A designed throughput capacity in phase I will shape at 500 thou. TEU, thus making it the largest in Poland deepsea container terminal. The outlays on the construction amount to EUR 190 million, whilst a targeted throughput capacity is 1 million TEU. Phase I of the construction is due to completion after 20 months or so of the date of commencement of the construction work.

In the area of the terminal's hinterland, the construction is projected of a state-of-the-art Logistics and Distribution Centre. In the early days of January 2005, signatories to the Letter of Intention: the British investor DCT Gdansk SA, the City of Gdansk and the Port of Gdansk Authority SA expressed their will to build a Logistics and Distribution Centre on an area of nearly 140 ha. This opens the opportunity for dozens of companies that will embark on the handling of containers and commodities shipped in containers, as well as on value-added business activities, processing, packing and transportation.