Over 56 hectares' area of the Port Free Zone at the Port of Gdansk

28.05.2002

An increased volume of cargo handling, the need to expand storage grounds, as well as the development of activities related to the cargo servicing in the Port Free Zone constitute major grounds for the Port of Gdansk Authority SA applying to the Ministry of Finance for the extension of the Port Free Zone at the Port of Gdansk. As a result of the many-month's preparatory work an adequate ordinance was signed by the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Economy and, as of May 17^th this year, the ordinance came in force to allow for the extension of the Port Free Zone at the Port of Gdansk up to the area of 56.2 ha.

According to the Port Free Zone extension plans at the Port of Gdansk - the so-far existing grounds of the Port Free Zone will be extended by the Oliwskie Quay suited for general cargo handling, as well as the Szczecinskie Quay specialized in container and heavy general cargo handling. Total length of the quays will amount to 3 km, whereas the overall area of 84 thousand square meters of roofed warehouses together with 18 storage yards - 140 thousand square meters.

In the year 2001, a total volume of 363 thousand tonnes of various types of cargoes was handled at the quays of the Port Free Zone, inclusive of 181 976 tonnes of sea-borne cargoes, among them, 115 721 tonnes of citrus fruit. Among the major types of cargoes handled at the Gdansk Port Free Zone there are motor vehicles. In the year 2000 a number of 7 600 vehicles was handled, whereas in 2001 this number amounted to 15 532 vehicles. This year already, on the other hand, during the first four months alone, over 10 thousand cars have been handled at the Port Free Zone. This type of cargo handling requires not only an increasingly large storage grounds (vehicles), but also roofed warehouses. Quality standards of ports cargo servicing is constantly improving and, on many occasions, our business partners ask for comparable storage conditions for their cargoes. The area extension of the Port Free Zone at the Port of Gdansk responds not only to an increased volume of cargo, but also to the development opportunities of other activities introduced at port free zones all over the world. These activities include, inter alia, packaging, sorting and enriching of cargoes.

Development of the extension plans of the Port Free Zone calls for a considerable amount of work, hence the completion date remains distant. Modernization work will be carried out of, among others, the fence - in total, there will be 8 vehicle entrance gates, 3 railway entrance gates and 4 entrance pass check-points, whereas the entire area will be provided with the IT security system with 30 cameras installed.

- This is a significant testing-ground for Poland in terms of customs duty and tax regulations. It will also enable the verification of electronic data transmission and customs clearance at the threshold of the EU accession - emphasizes Czeslaw Nowak, Director of the Port Free Zone at the Port of Gdansk. The terms and regulations currently binding in this area are the same as those in force in the European Union. This is an important experience, particularly due to the fact that upon Poland's accession to the EU the Port Free Zone at the Port of Gdansk will become the most eastern-exposed free zone, thus playing a vital role in terms of the EU commercial liaison with other countries.