DCT Gdansk, the largest container terminal on the Baltic Sea in terms of transshipment volume, has received the green light from the Pomeranian Voivodeship authorities to build a second quay. On December 8, the Pomeranian Voivode issued the building permit. The document must become legally binding. Once this happens, the investor will issue a notice to proceed with the order, which in practice means the commencement of construction work.
Since its inception in 2007, DCT Gdansk has been growing at a pace that none of the investors had anticipated. The terminal’s offer meets the needs of container shipowners looking for more economical ways to reach the Central and Eastern European market. By receiving some of the world’s largest ships delivering goods imported from the Far East and taking Polish export goods to China, Korea, or Vietnam, Gdansk has become an important port on the global container map. Upon completion of the second quay, DCT Gdansk will double its transshipment capacity, reaching a level of 3 million TEU per year in the first phase of the investment. These are parameters that no other Polish terminal has had or currently has.
– With the start of the construction of the second deep-water quay, we are opening a new chapter in the history of the Polish maritime sector. Back in 2010, when the direct ocean connection between Europe and Asia was extended to Gdansk, Poland gained its own hub. Today, we are broadening the spectrum of possibilities. With the investment in the second quay, we are opening up to cooperation with further shipping lines that recognize the potential of allowing large-tonnage and deep-draft vessels to enter the Baltic Sea. We are convinced that our offer will be attractive both to shipping lines and their clients – importers and exporters working with Far Eastern countries who have not used DCT until now – says Maciek Kwiatkowski, CEO of DCT Gdansk. – We plan for the new quay to be ready to receive its first container ship by the end of 2016. The investment, along with the refinancing of existing debt, will be worth 290 million Euros. In November 2014, a consortium of banks signed a loan agreement. At the end of September, we learned the identity of the general contractor selected through a tender process, which is NV BESIX SA.