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Besix JV to build Polish shipping channel

8 Oct 19 A team of Besix and Polish contractor NDI has signed a €187m (£167m) contract to build a shipping channel through the Vistula Spit peninsula in Poland.

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, is intended to boost the importance of the port of Elblag by making it accessible to larger vessels and drastically reducing the distance between the port and the Baltic sea.

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 embankments. In addition, the companies will build an artificial island within the Vistula Lagoon. The approximately 180ha island will be kept as a natural area, serving as a sanctuary for the local wildlife and migratory birds.

The channel stretches over 1.5km with a width varying from 25m to 120m. The breakwaters will have lengths of 1,014m and 568m and be located outside the spit in Gdańsk Bay.

The Maritime Office in Gdynia (Urząd Morski w Gdyni) has awarded the contract for the project, which is financed by the Polish government.

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Besix CEO Rik Vandenberghe said: "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."

Małgorzata Winiarek-Gajewska, CEO of NDI: "This is a very interesting project and its construction will be another hydroengineering undertaking that NDI will be completing in cooperation with Besix.”

Work is expected to start this year and be completed in 2022.  

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