Polish Fairway Dredging Contract Awarded

A major modernization contract for the deepening and widening of a 62 km section of the Świnoujście – Szczecin fairway in Poland has been awarded to Van Oord and DEME Group subsidiary Dredging International.

The investment by the Maritime Office in Szczecin will improve access to the Szczecin seaport and increase the port capacity to handle a growing volume of cargo.

The project is a design and build contract to deepen and widen the fairway along a section of approximately 62 km from -10.5 to -12.5 m. The dredged materials will be used to build two artificial islands in the Szczecin lagoon. The works further include enforcements of slopes and quay walls along the channel, relocation of cables and navigational aids. The environmental sustainability and cooperation with all project stakeholders play an important role during execution. Several types of equipment will be deployed on the project.

Works will start end of 2018 and are expected to be completed in 42 months. The contract has a value of approximately EUR 313 million and is co-financed by the European Union.

“The combination of state-of-the-art dredging equipment, the consortium’s vast international experience in design and build projects and most importantly our integrated team of experts enabled DEME and Van Oord to bring the most cost-efficient solution,” said Eric Tancré, Area Director Europe at DEME.

Govert van Oord, Area Director Europe at Van Oord, said, “It is a challenging project and an opportunity to demonstrate Van Oord’s and DEME’s capabilities in offering integrated dredging solutions to our client. Our project team is looking forward to working closely with our client and all stakeholders, in order to contribute to the further modernization of the maritime infrastructure in Poland and at the same time enhancing the environment during execution.”