Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Grzegorz Witkowski announced that a contract for the construction of a waterway will be signed at the end of the week as part of the construction connecting the Vistula Lagoon with the Bay of Gdańsk.

It will be an 8.2 km long track section on the Vistula Lagoon, which will enable the navigation of 100 meters long sea ships and sets of 180 meters long barges, 20 meters wide and 4.5 meters draft along with the transport of the excavated material to the newly created island in the Vistula Lagoon.

Witkowski explained that also navigation signage will also be provided. The investor, Maritime Office in Gdynia, assumes that this part of the investment will be completed in the first half of next year – explained the deputy minister of infrastructure and reminded that in September 2022 the first part of the investment, the Shipping Canal through the Vistula Spit, will be completed.

The city of Elbląg, which is the owner of the port, will start the expansion of the port infrastructure this year.

“We give the port a full waterway, but we cannot invest in the port because it is municipal”, emphasized Deputy Minister Witkowski.

The total length of the new waterway from the Bay of Gdańsk through the Vistula Lagoon to Elbląg is nearly 23 km, of which 2.5 km is a section consisting of a lock, and an external port and a roadstead for ships. The canal and the entire waterway will be 5 meters deep.

The new waterway connecting the Vistula Lagoon with the Bay of Gdańsk is one of the government’s priority investments. It is to strengthen Poland’s sovereignty and make our country independent of the decisions of the Russians. Polish vessels had to obtain permission from Russia each time to cross the Pilawa Strait, and they will not have to do so after completing the canal. Thanks to the investment, the route of ships sailing from the Bay of Gdańsk to the Vistula Lagoon will also be shortened. The investment will enhance the role of the port in Elbląg and the ports on the Vistula Lagoon.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński