Polish Minister of Infrastructure Andrzej Adamczyk announced that the deal for the implementation of the second stage of the Vistula Spit canal project will be signed on Tuesday.
“On Tuesday, we are signing the contract for the second phase of this investment which will allow us to reconstruct the fairway on the Elbląg river on a 10-kilometer section. Thanks to this deal, a swing bridge will also be installed over the Elbląg river,” announced Adamczyk.
In addition to the second-stage deal deadline, he also informed that a tender for the third and final phase of the Vistula Spit canal will be announced in 2021. The minister explained that the third tender will concern dredging work of up to five meters of depth in the Vistula Lagoon and Elbląg River, as well as integrating the whole investment.
Adamczyk noted that according to the current schedule, in two years ships of an immersion depth of up to 4.5 meters, 20 meters width and 100 meters length will be able to sail into the Vistula Lagoon and Elbląg River. The Polish government is forecasting that the Vistula Spit canal will serve as an engine for the economic development of the entire region.
The first stage of the construction of a canal across the Vistula Spit was initiated in October 2019. The construction is currently on schedule and is expected to be completed in the middle of 2022.
The general contractor of the investment is the Polish-Belgian consortium NDI/Besix/ while the main investor is the Gdynia Maritime Office.
The entire length of the new sailing route from the Gulf of Gdańsk through the Vistula Spit to Elbląg will be 23 kilometers long and along a 2.5-kilometer section will contain a a floodgate, external harbor and rest stops. The canal and the entire fairway will have a depth of five meters.
