Ministry of Infrastructure informs the public that the sluice of the shipping canal is already filled with water, which means that the connection of the Vistula Lagoon and the Gulf of Gdańsk has become a fact. Most of the works in the protective port and in the area of ​​the artificial island have already been completed. The opening of the shipping canal through the Vistula Spit is scheduled for September 17. This day is the anniversary of the invasion of Poland by the Soviet Union in 1939.

The construction of the Vistula Spit ditch performed as part of the first part of the investment is a technologically complex project. Its investor is the Maritime Office in Gdynia, and the general contractor is a consortium consisting of NDI and Besix.

The second part of the investment is also being implemented including housing the banks of the Elbląg river and a new bridge in Nowaków. The mobilization of units and preparatory works are also underway within the third part, including the construction of a fairway on the Vistula Lagoon, which will be maintained by a dredger, for which we have already signed a contract”, stated Wiesław Piotrzkowski, the director of the Maritime Office in Gdynia.

Investments are also carried out in the area of ​​an artificial island with a target area of 181 hectares, where birds will find shelter.

Ultimately, the new shipping canal will be 1 km long and 5 meters deep. After the completion of all parts of the project in 2023, vessels with a draft of up to four and a half meters, a length of up to 100 meters and a width of up to 20 meters will be able to enter the port in Elbląg.

Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Marek Gróbarczyk is happy to observe the progress of works at the Vistula Spit. “I am glad that the construction is coming to an end. The canal through the Vistula Spit looks magnificent. This investment will shorten and simplify navigation and make it unnecessary to use the Piławska Strait anymore”, said Gróbarczyk.

Adrian Andrzejewski