Port of Gdańsk completes 98 million zloty Ore Quay rebuild. 250 m of new quay, 11.2 m depth and ships up to 35,000

Construction works cost 98 million zloty. The investment forms part of a wider project co-financed from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF 2), under which the European Union has granted close to 100 million euro for the modernisation of five Inner Port quays.

From patch repairs to partial closure

Nabrzeże Rudowe was built at the turn of the 1930s and 1940s. Over more than 80 years it received only ad hoc repairs, and its deteriorating condition, including the state of the steel sheet piling, led in 2019 to part of the quay being withdrawn from vessel handling and cargo operations.

The Port of Gdańsk Authority signed the contract with the general contractor, PORR S.A., in March 2024. Works took just over two years, and the final acceptance protocol was signed on 14 May 2026.

A slab on piles and 265 m of track

The rebuild covered a 232.5 m section of Nabrzeże Rudowe III and an 18 m section of the adjacent Nabrzeże Administracyjne. The new quay has a slab structure supported on a grid of reinforced concrete piles, with a combined steel sheet-pile front wall. A 265 m rail track has been laid along it.

Dredging works deepened part of the Basen Górniczy to 11.2 m, compared with a previous depth of between 6.1 m and 10.2 m. The quay has been fitted with point fenders and 100 t mooring bollards and is rated for the largest mobile handling machines, such as the Liebherr LHM 550 and Mantsinen 300.

The scope also included the quay surface, two access roads from ul. Kujawska and ul. de Plelo, a water main, storm drainage, surface drainage, lighting for the quay and adjacent areas, and electrical ducting.

Headroom to 13.5 m and 40 kN/m²

The structure has been designed with reserve capacity. Subject to the relevant administrative decisions, the technical depth can be increased to 12.0 m, the permissible depth to 13.5 m and the permissible quay loading to 40 kN/m². In practice this means the berth will be able to handle larger vessels in the future than originally assumed.

To cut CO2 emissions during cargo handling, the quay has been equipped with power sockets for electrically driven cranes. The structure is also prepared for the later installation of onshore power supply (OPS) for vessels alongside.

– Every modernised quay increases the development potential of the Port of Gdańsk. By investing in the Inner Port we are creating modern infrastructure capable of meeting the demands of today's logistics and shipping. These are investments that translate into greater throughput, higher operational efficiency, better transport accessibility and more attractive port land for current and future customers – said Dorota Pyć, President of the Board of the Port of Gdańsk Authority.

Views from parliament and city hall

Magdalena Sroka, a member of the Polish parliament present at the quay, stressed the strategic importance of the Port of Gdańsk for the national economy and the need to keep building its capacity and competitiveness.

– For some time now I have been hugely impressed by what is happening here in the Port of Gdańsk. I congratulate the management, because the development of the Port of Gdańsk is of strategic importance to our whole economy. Each new investment shows how important it is to increase its potential. We have to become more competitive so that we can handle the goods coming to us from all over the world more efficiently – said Magdalena Sroka.

Piotr Grzelak, Deputy Mayor of Gdańsk, pointed to the scale and pace of investment in the port. Piotr Grzelak said that the increasingly frequent openings of completed projects are the best evidence of the determination of the Port of Gdańsk Authority, the Polish government and the European Union, which co-finances strategic investments of this kind.

Five quays, 1,937.75 m and close to 100 million euro from CEF 2

The modernisation of Nabrzeże Rudowe is part of a project financed under the Connecting Europe Facility for 2021-2027. For the project to improve the infrastructure of the Port of Gdańsk, which also includes an analysis of implementing a low-emission OPS system for the sustainable development of the TEN-T network, the European Union has awarded a grant of close to 100 million euro.

The project covers the expansion of five Inner Port quays with a combined length of 1,937.75 m, together with the necessary underground and rail infrastructure. The first two to be modernised were Nabrzeże Bytomskie along the Kanał Portowy and Nabrzeże Rudowe in the Basen Górniczy. Nabrzeże Zbożowe, Nabrzeże Wiślane and Nabrzeże Węglowe will follow in subsequent stages.