C+S February 2020 Vol. 6 Issue 2 (web)

BESIX: Major marine infrastructure work in Poland

The contract The Maritime Office in Gdynia (Urząd Morski w Gdyni) has awarded the joint venture BESIX – NDI GROUP the contract to build a ship- ping channel through the Vistula Spit. The Vistula Spit is a peninsular stretch of land, separating the Vistula Lagoon from the Gdańsk Bay. New infrastructure, designed by engineering consultants Mosty Gdańsk and Projmors, will ease the maritime traffic and boost Elblag’s port installations by drastically reducing the distance between the port and the Baltic sea and making it accessible to larger vessels. In addition to the port, the project is expected to have a positive influence on the employment rate and on the economy of the Warmia-Mazury Province. The contract was signed on the 4th of October 2019 and amounts to 187 million euros. The project is financed by the Republic of Poland. Rik Vandenberghe, CEO of BESIX: "The Channel through the Vistula Spit is a major infrastructure which will generate important economic benefits for the Republic of Poland. BESIX is proud to carry out this iconic project and looks forward to developing it with NDI, an esteemed partner with whom we have built an outstanding cooperation and a trusting relationship over the years, notably through the construction the Gdańsk Container Terminal." Mathieu Dechamps, General Manager International at BESIX: "We will build the Vistula Spit’s infrastructure to the highest quality stan- dards, including with regards to the environment and through the use of state-of-the-art techniques. BESIX has a strong expertise in these fields, as reflected by its recent and ongoing works in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as well as in Australia and Canada." Małgorzata Winiarek-Gajewska, CEO of NDI: "This is a very inter- esting project and its construction will be another hydroengineering undertaking that NDI will be completing in cooperation with BESIX. We have already built together the DCT2 container terminal at the Port of Gdansk and our cooperation was very good. We will be happy to transfer our experience to this project on the Vistula Spit." Scope of works The works include the construction of two breakwaters, a channel, two rotating bridges over the lock, four sluice gates, buildings, landscaping as well as the adjacent roads and the soil reinforcement of the road’s embankments. Also, the companies will build a 190-hectares artificial island within the Vistula Lagoon. The channel stretches over 1.5 kilometers with a width varying from 25 to 120 meters. It is equipped with 61-meter long and 17-meter large rotating bridges, while the associated buildings will cover an area of

Shipping channel through the Vistula Spit

1.090 m². Located outside the spit in the Gdańsk Bay, the two break- waters have respective lengths of 1,014 and 568 meters and form a protective harbor. Works are expected to start in 2019 and be completed in 2022. The joint venture will ensure the continuity of traffic on the existing pro- vincial roads throughout the construction period.

Contract signing

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february 2020

csengineermag.com

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