The Port of Gdańsk handled 53.2 million tons of goods in 2021, an 11% increase and the most cargo handled in the history of the port.
The Ministry of Infrastructure held a conference in January attended by ministers, Marek Gróbarczyk and Grzegorz Witkowski, and the management boards of the three largest Polish ports: Gdańsk, Szczecin-Świnoujście and Gdynia.
In his opening speech, Gróbarczyk, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Infrastructure, said such a strong result had never been achieved before in the case of cargo handling at a Polish port.
“This shows the strong position of our ports. This record result is proof that we have coped with the effects of the pandemic very well. Let us not forget that the pandemic is still ongoing and many economies are continuing to suffer,” he said.
“In terms of the economics of port development, in terms of exports, imports and, above all, the opening up of freight, we can boast a 9% increase year-on-year. 113 million tonnes clearly places us at a very high level in terms of cargo handling at ports. If we take a historical perspective, we can see enormous growth dynamics. From 2008 to the present day, we have had a 116% increase in cargo handling,” he went on.
The deputy minister also pointed to the fact that until 2008, Poland had not been included in the rankings for container handling and today handles over 3 million TEU of containers.
“It is a huge success. The DCT terminal in Gdansk is currently the largest container port on the Baltic Sea. I am convinced that the ongoing investments in port infrastructure worth nearly PLN 7 billion will bring further growth in the coming years. We cannot stop here, we are striving to increase the amount of cargo handled and build a huge hub, first of all by associating all of the alliances that were previously located outside of Poland, so that the largest container ships arrive here,” said the deputy minister.
Witkowski, undersecretary of state in the Ministry of Infrastructure, added that investments in infrastructure prove that synergy effects have been achieved.
“We all wanted to achieve the same result. We will not spare funds for maritime economy, because every penny invested in ports, shipyards, and infrastructure returns a hundredfold. These results are the best example,” he said.
In the Port of Gdańsk in 2021, a total of 53.2 million tons of goods were handled, up 11% year-on-year.
“This is the best result in our history We managed to beat the record from 2019, when we handled 52 million tons”, said Łukasz Greinke, CEO of the Port of Gdańsk at the conference.
“The port never sleeps. Although the investments were in full swing, the operators still carried out the handling. The result we achieved last year pleases us, but it does not satisfy us. We have high aspirations, we want to be one of the biggest ports in Europe and we are interested in a place in the top ten. So far, we have moved up to 18th position in Europe. We are still on the Baltic podium – 3rd in total cargo handling. I am convinced that our further investments, which we will be implementing very soon, will bring the Port of Gdańsk new volumes. Within two to three years, instead of five, we will have six, and in the next five years – seven,’ Greinke said.
