Port of Gdynia announced a tender for a contractor to build nearly 2.5 kilometers of brand new breakwaters. This is a large and important investment, which is also the first step towards the construction of the Outer Port, but even without it, it will significantly increase the port's capabilities and safety in port waters.

The Port of Gdynia Authority has launched a tender to select a contractor for nearly 2.5 kilometers of new breakwaters. The primary investor, and later the owner of the breakwaters, is the Maritime Office in Gdynia. The tender procedure under the "Design and Build" formula was announced on November 15. The breakwaters are expected to be ready in 2027. The investment is very expensive, but Port of Gdynia Authority S.A. has received financial support from the State Treasury for this purpose. An investment agreement has been signed, and the company's share capital has been increased. This gives the possibility to use the funds provided by the State Treasury for the construction of new infrastructure.

- The construction of the breakwaters is worth more than half a billion zlotys. Today, the Port of Gdynia Authority has these funds secured in its accounts and thanks to this we can undertake this difficult but very important task, i.e. the selection of the contractor for the breakwaters," explains Jacek Sadaj, president of the Port of Gdynia Authority.

Calming the waters in a larger area will allow the port to handle more ships, but will also improve operational efficiency and shipping safety. However, the new breakwaters are also an important first step in the construction of the Outer Port in Gdynia.

- The new harbor protection system, the new breakwaters are more than 2 km of new hydrotechnical construction, which will protect the harbor from wave action, but also secure the development of the port for the future. This is the most important thing. The Port of Gdynia has shown how much it is capable of handling with the existing infrastructure. It's time for further, very important investments, the implementation of which will enable further development of the port. These new breakwaters are an opportunity to build a new development area for the port - a new Outer Port. In fact, today we are already ready to settle the proceedings for the selection of a private partner, with whom we will be able to jointly build a new 151-hectare port area," says Port of Gdynia Authority President Jacek Sadaj. - But even without the Outer Port, these breakwaters are still needed to improve safety on the water. Thanks to the new system of breakwaters, the largest vessels will be able to call at the Port of Gdynia, and navigation inside this area, which will be sheltered by breakwaters, will be much safer, Sadaj explains.

A preliminary concept for the breakwaters is also ready. The Port of Gdynia and the Maritime Office in Gdynia have developed specific guidelines for the infrastructure being prepared. According to Tomasz Wawrzyński, head of the Hydrotechnical Construction Department at the Port of Gdynia Maritime Authority, some of the studies necessary for construction have also already been completed.

- The port has developed a functional-utility program, on the basis of which the selected contractor and the design bureau will design the target shapes and technical solutions of the breakwaters. The port has also, through its own efforts, carried out a very thorough geological survey and prepared a geological-engineering documentation, which has been approved, says Wawrzyński.

The said documentation is already available to contractors. As Wawrzynski adds, this is the first time a part of the seabed near the port has been thoroughly surveyed.

- The area, which until now had never been inspected because there was no need to know its geological conditions, is very thoroughly verified and described. Ferromagnetic reconnaissance has also been carried out, since, as we know, the Port of Gdynia was the site of air raids in wartime, and during our investments carried out in the inner harbor, we encounter these remnants.

The breakwaters will be divided into five sections of different lengths. In total, they will measure exactly 2406 meters. They will act as a barrier to waves entering the area of the future Outer Port from the north. They will consist of two types of structures, each with a slightly different function.

- Vertical-wall breakwaters are to reflect the wave, while open-wall breakwaters are to extinguish it, partially let it pass and reduce its height into the basin, Wawrzynski explains.

The deadline for submitting bids in the tender is January 31, 2024. All information about the proceedings can be found on the Port of Gdynia website and on the bidding platform. Its announcement crowns, for the port, another consecutive year of implementation of the investment program, within the framework of which a great deal is happening on the port grounds and basins - but also outside them.

- The year 2023 was a very happy year for the investment program. Work on the dredging of the Inner Harbor has progressed. We are in the process of completing one of the most difficult reconstructions related to the modernization of Hel Quay, the modernization of the Indian Quay is underway. But we are also well advanced in the realization of the turntable, which is necessary so that ships of up to 400 meters in length can turn in the Inner Port. All this is already happening. On the other hand, we are very pleased that the end of the year has resulted in this most important event, that is, the start of the investment on the breakwaters, gives us a chance to go to sea and develop this beautiful and great initiative related to the expansion of the port for the next 100 years," comments Port of Gdynia President Jacek Sadaj.