The more than 80-year-old structure of the Ore Quay was dismantled and replaced with a new quay more than 250 metres long, equipped with modern hydraulic engineering, rail and technical infrastructure. The investment has increased the Port of Gdańsk’s handling capacity and throughput, thereby contributing to its competitiveness.

The Rudowe Quay, located in the Górniczy Basin, was built in the late 1930s and early 1940s. During more than 80 years of operation, it underwent only ad hoc repairs. Due to its deteriorating technical condition, including the condition of the steel sheet pile wall, part of the quay was taken out of service for vessels and cargo handling in 2019.

In March 2024, the Port of Gdańsk Authority (Zarząd Morskiego Portu Gdańsk S.A.) signed a contract for the reconstruction of the quay with general contractor PORR S.A. The works lasted just over two years. On 14 May 2026, the final acceptance certificate for the investment was signed.

The reconstruction of Rudowe Quay III covered a 232.5-metre section as well as an 18-metre section of the Administrative Quay. The project included the construction of a new slab-type quay structure supported by a reinforced-concrete pile grid, with a combined steel sheet pile wall at the front.

A 265-metre railway track was also built along the quay. As part of the dredging works, a section of the Górniczy Basin was deepened to 11.20 metres, compared with depths ranging from 6.1 to 10.2 metres previously.

The new quay structure also allows its parameters to be increased in the future, subject to the necessary administrative approvals. The technical depth could be increased to 12.0 metres, the permissible depth to 13.5 metres, and the allowable quay load to 40 kN/m². This means that the quay could eventually handle larger vessels than originally envisaged.

The dredging works and increased depth alongside the quay open up new opportunities for handling larger vessels. The Rudowe Quay can now accommodate ships with a maximum draught of up to 10.60 metres and a deadweight of up to 35,000 DWT. The quay has also been adapted for cargo handling using the largest mobile handling equipment, such as the Liebherr LHM 550 and Mantsinen 300.

– Each modernised quay increases the Port of Gdańsk’s development potential. By investing in the Inner Port, we are creating modern infrastructure capable of meeting the requirements of contemporary logistics and shipping. These investments translate into greater throughput, higher operational efficiency, improved transport accessibility and greater attractiveness of port areas for existing and future contractors – said Dorota Pyć, President of the Management Board of the Port of Gdańsk Authority.

To reduce CO₂ emissions during cargo handling operations, the quay has been equipped with power sockets supplying cranes with electricity. The scope of the investment also included the quay surface, railway tracks, two access roads to the quay from Kujawska and de Plelo streets, a water supply system, stormwater drainage, surface drainage, lighting for the quay and adjacent areas, and electrical ducting.

The quay has been equipped with point fenders and mooring bollards with a capacity of 100 tonnes. Its structure has also been prepared for the future implementation of an onshore power supply system for vessels at berth, known as OPS (Onshore Power Supply).

MP Magdalena Sroka highlighted the strategic importance of the Port of Gdańsk to the national economy and the need to further increase its capacity and competitiveness.

– For some time now, I have been hugely impressed by what is happening here at the Port of Gdańsk. I congratulate the management, because the development of the Port of Gdańsk is of strategic importance to our entire economy. Further investments only demonstrate how important it is to increase its capacity. We need to become more competitive so that we can handle more efficiently the goods arriving from around the world – she said.

Her remarks were echoed by Gdańsk Deputy Mayor Piotr Grzelak, who drew attention to the scale and pace of investment being carried out at the port. As he noted, increasingly frequent ceremonies marking the completion of successive projects are the best evidence of the determination of the Port of Gdańsk Authority, the Polish government and the European Union, which co-finances such strategic investments.

The cost of construction works at the RudoweQuay amounted to PLN 98 million.

Connecting Europe

The modernisation of the Ore Quay forms part of a larger project co-financed under the Connecting Europe Facility for 2021–2027 (CEF 2).

The European Union has awarded a grant of nearly €100 million for the project entitled “Improvement of Port of Gdańsk infrastructure with an analysis of the implementation of a low-emission OPS system for the sustainable development of the TEN-T network.”

The project involves the redevelopment of five quays in the Inner Port, with a combined length of 1,937.75 metres, together with the necessary underground and railway infrastructure.

The first two quays to be modernised were the Bytomskie Quay, located along the Port Canal, and the Rudowe Quay, situated in the Górniczy Basin. In subsequent stages, the Zbożowe Quay, Wiślane Quay and Węglowe Quay will undergo modernisation.

Photo: Port of Gdańsk Authority/press release