Cooperation between the Port of Gdansk and the city of Gdansk for environmental protection.
The reconstruction of the Port of Gdansk's sanitary system.

28.07.2015

As a result of the cooperation between PGA SA and Gdanska Infrastruktura Wodociagowo-Kanalizacyjna Sp. z.o.o. - a 100-percent municipal company - an agreement has been signed that will allow the comprehensive restructuring of the system of sewage from areas and objects on the right bank of the Port of Gdansk, managed by the Port Authority. The agreement enables the coordination of investments made by PGA SA and the Gdansk municipality to link port sewage to the municipal system.

Wastewater from the port areas on the right side of the canal are currently discharged into three local PGA SA sewage treatment plants, built in the 1970s and 1980s. The development of both the port and the port area - necessitates the sustained development and adaptation of the infrastructure, including the sewage network, to match current needs, regulations and environmental standards.

As a result of the reconstruction of the sewerage system, all port sanitary sewage will be redirected through the municipal sewage system to the East sewage treatment plant. Existing treatment plants will be gradually liquidated and the free areas will be used for other port operations.

The sewer system that is now being reconstructed enables the reception of sewage from an area covering more than half of the site managed by the Port Authority. As part of the rebuilding project, 8km of pipelines will be replaced and rebuilt and approximately 15 pumping stations will be modernised. Thanks to this investment, part of the undeveloped area will have the capacity to include the sewers into the network, which will also significantly boost the attractiveness of these areas in terms of business development for potential investors.

In the future, this investment will also enable the receipt and transmission of sewage from passenger ships berthed at the Port of Gdansk to the municipal system, in accordance with the requirements of the MARPOL Convention. Annex IV states that the discharge of sewage into the sea is strictly prohibited for passenger ships. For newly constructed ships, this stricter law is due to come into force on 1 January 2016 and for existing passenger ships on 1 January 2018.

The implementation of the entire reconstruction of the sewage system will take approximately 3 years. Due to the scale of the investment and size of the area covered, work will be divided and implemented in stages. The continuous operation of the existing sewer must be maintained without disrupting the operation of contractors in the port area.

Currently, there is a design documentation project put to tender for the implementation of the reconstruction of the PGA SA sewage system. The deadline for submitting tenders expires on 11 August.

This project is one of over one hundred Port of Gdansk Authority investment projects planned for this year. So far everything has proceeded smoothly, so well in fact that by the end of June progress in investment and renovation had reached 78%. The total cost of the work planned for 2015 amounts to a considerable amount exceeding 100 million PLN.