The Project preparatory stage comprises a number of activities intended to lead to commencement of  implementation stage .

The preparatory stage  of the construction of the Outer Port in the Port  Gdynia Project began with elaboration of the Multi-discipline Concept of its implementation. The conclusions the Multi-discipline Concept led to development of the Implementation Concept, a detailed technical and organisational description of the planned Outer Port. As a result of consultations with several institutions a number of corrections were introduced. The final solutions included in the Concept, effected in minimisation, or in some cases total elimination, of any negative impacts of the Project on various elements of its environment

The final Concept enables meeting of the major assumptions as regards  the functionalities of the future Outer Port. The new port pier will occupy approximately 150 ha and the usable length of quay will be around 3,330 m, of which 1,660 m of the Container Terminal main pier. The Project Concept provides for location of storage  yards with an approximate capacity of 75,000 TEU at the Container Terminal. The Container Terminal will feature a railway cargo terminal with transshipment tracks, each 750 m long, which will  enable simultaneous handling of entire train sets without the necessity of splitting them into separate cars or smaller sets. The road traffic will be serviced by a truck terminal, complete with a system of entry and exit gates. Super-Post-Panamax STS gantry cranes will be used, as they have been proven successful in handling the largest container vessels.  It is anticipated that there will be 15 STS gantry cranes in operation until the Container Terminal comes close to its planned throughput.
In addition, the scope of the  Outer Port Project includes dredging operations in order to increase the depth of the planned Port of Gdynia waters and the approach fairways. The dredging operations will be conducted to in a manner to optimise the process, with optimisation of the process in mind: the spoil  brought up  from the deepened waters will be reused in the construction of the port’s pier. This will help to greatly reduce the environmental impact of the Project during its implementation.

The execution of complementary projects necessary  for the Port of Gdynia to conduct its operations, like construction of new breakwaters and expansion of the railway and road system access links has become viable thanks to cooperation of ZMPG S.A. with the Maritime Office in Gdynia, General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways, , the Polish Railway Lines , as well as other central, regional, and local authorities.

Public-Private Partnership (PPP)

As part of the project preparation an appraisal was conducted  to determine a project scheme which would prove to be the  most efficient and provide the maximum benefits for the public.. In November 2019, the Port of Gdynia Authority SA and the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy (then the Ministry of Investment and Development) signed contracts for the project transaction advisory  with the  advisory consortium selected in a tender. Transaction advisory covers technical, economic, financial and legal aspects of the project. The  advisory consortium includes:

• Ernst&Young sp. z o.o., Corporate Finance s.k. – consortium leader, financial and economic advisor,
  Domański Zakrzewski Palinka s.k. – legal advisor,
  Databout sp. z o.o. – technical advisor.

Learn more about the PPP in the PPP tab.

Research, design engineering, and administrative decisions

The size and scope of the Outer Port project necessitate conducting wide-scale environmental and engineering studies. Between 2018 and 2020, Port of Gdynia Authority performed several potential environmental impact analyses. Learn more in the ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION tab.

The result  of the analyses is the Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The EIR is the rationale for Port of Gdynia Authority S.A. to request the Environmental Permit which is a precondition  for implementation the Outer Port project. The Environmental Permit  is issued by the Regional Director of Environmental Protection (RDOŚ).

The Environmental permit will be a component of the rationale for requesting subsequent Permits: the Water Act Permit, the Construction Permit in relation to  artificial islands, the zoning permit, and the building permit.

The PPP project implementation stage is divided into two parts. Part one is the development of the building design and obtaining  the relevant official decisions, including the building permit. The building  design  of  the Outer Port in the Port of  Gdynia Project will be developed  according to the Implementation  Concept and assumptions agreed during  the Competitive Dialogue. The entire design package will be developed by a  Private Partner. This part will be finalised by obtaining the building permit, which is planned to happen in 2024.

The building permit will complete part one, which will be followed by part two.  the actual implementation of the Outer Port Project.

The core of the project implementation stage is the construction and equipping  of the Outer Port. The project provides for a number of works:

• Dredging,  to deepen new port basins and the approach fairway of the Outer Port;
• Silting, to dump the dredged materials at the new pier construction site;
• Demolition of an existing section of the southern breakwater at the Port of Gdynia;
• Construction of the Outer Port pier by forming an artificial peninsula;
• Construction of service quays and encasement of the new pier, including expansion of the existing Silesian (Sląskie) quay on the Coal  Pier in the Port of Gdynia;
• Construction of wave diffusers;
• Construction of storage  yards, pavements, and structures  on the new pier;
• Construction of the infrastructure and equipping  of the Container Terminal;
• Construction and equipping  of the intermodal railway terminal, complete with its connection  to the existing and currently expanded railway network of PKP PLK;
• Construction and outfitting of the vehicle  terminal, connected to the planned road system;
• Equipping  of the Outer Port with all necessary utilities , power systems, ELV systems, and water and sewage networks;
• Construction of the perimeter fencing and area lighting.

Description of planned works

The next figure illustrates a general arrangement of the planned Outer Port, highlighting its essential functions, layout of fairways and hydraulic structures (also these which consist the complementary project of construction of breakwaters). The dredging work to be completed under the Outer Port project will cover the area of 5,3 km², and the planned dredged cubic content  will be approximately 21,5 million m³.

Fig. 1. Outer Port offshore construction work scope

The project implementation schedule should be adjusted  to  commercial market conditions, hence  the construction work will be completed in stages, as this will allow for to achieving the best financial indicators of the Outer Port project. This means that only the initial part of the Outer Port pier will be completed in the beginning of the implementation stage. The remaining parts of the pier will be added in line with the demand forecasts for the handling capacity. The project implementation stage is planned to take place in the years 2027–2028.

The project operation stage will begin when the Outer Port construction, final acceptance, and commission are complete. The analyses indicate  that in the first years of its operation, the Outer Port will handle between 300,000 and 1,000,000 TEU per annum. The Outer Port should achieve the ultimate planned cargo handling capacity of 2.5 MTEU between 2040 and 2050.

The Private Partner will be responsible for operation of the Container Terminal. ZMPG S.A. and the Private Partner will cooperate in accordance to the long term  PPP contract.

The present breakwater system of the Port of Gdynia features several meridian oriented sections of  total approximate length of 2.5 km. Given the plans for expansion of the Port of Gdynia towards the Bay of Puck, it will be necessary  to construct new breakwaters not only to enable the operation of the new port terminals, but also to improve the safety of navigation of vessels calling at the existing terminals. An important issue regarding the expansion of the port access infrastructure is to ensure unobstructed operation of the Polish Navy a base  located in the north-eastern quarter of the Port of Gdynia.

The planned system of new breakwaters will include:

• 1000 m long eastern breakwater segment;
• 835 m long north-eastern breakwater segment;
• Three northern breakwater segments, measuring (from the east) 800 m, 800 m, and 150 m.

The new breakwater system will allow safe navigation in the Port of Gdynia waters. It will shield the main turning basin at the Outer Port, the approach fairway to the inner Port, and the Naval Port approach fairway.

The construction of the breakwaters is not a part of the PPP project and will be delivered by a public entity under a traditional public tender  contract.

The existing link between the eastern terminals of the Port of Gdynia and the national road network runs along the following streets: Polska, Janka Wiśniewskiego, and Estakada Kwiatkowskiego. The local road system is approaching  its throughput limits, therefore  a decision has been made to build the Red Road (Droga Czerwona), the  project crucial to the City of Gdynia and its region.

The Red Road is a critical last-mile section which will feature a system of grade-separated junctions and interconnecting carriageways to form a link between the Port of Gdynia and S6 Expressway  (and, ultimately,S7  Expressway  and A1 Motorway).

The eastern part of the Red Road will begin at the area of the defunct Nauta Shipyards, near the north-western corner of Port of Gdynia Basin Two. From there, the Red Road will run through the extended and partially newly constructed road system, comprising:

• The extended Polska Street (New Polska Street);
• The redeveloped, collision free junction “Ofiar Grudnia ‘70”;
• The extended  Janka Wiśniewskiego Street;
• The extended  collision free junction between Janka Wiśniewskiego Street and Estakada Kwiatkowskiego;
• The new section between Estakada Kwiatkowskiego and the collision free  junction between Morska Street and the Tri-City Bypass, via the collision free junction “Dolina Logistyczna”.

The Red Road parameters  will comply with   the TEN-T Core Network guidelines. The Red Road concept was approved by the of the City of Gdynia on 26 November 2020. ZMPG S.A. will be responsible for with building the road section from the Outer Port to Karlskrona Roundabout, whereas the remaining road sections will be built by General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways,.

Fig. 2. Route of the planned Red Road

The rail link between the Outer Port Terminals will be built along the Silesian quay at the Port of Gdynia and will consist of  two approach tracks towards the crossing with Chrzanowskiego Street. The downstream link with the PKP PLK railway infrastructure is a separate project  “Improvement of the Railway Access to the Port of Gdynia” and is managed by the Polish Railway Lines. The work completed in the course of the project will permit for efficient connection between  the port terminals with the railway network.