Construction of Outer Port at Port of Gdynia – selection of PPP contractor ever closer

The competitive dialogue related to the PPP project "Construction of an Outer Port at the Port of Gdynia" has ended. On 4 July, dialogue participants received an official invitation to submit tenders. This is the largest project in the history of the Polish PPP market, with an estimated capital expenditure value exceeding PLN 5.5 billion.

Contractors invited to bid included major international players on the port and construction markets:

• Gdynia Terminal Holding SAS (CMA CGM group) and Meridiam Eastern Europe Investments 4 SAS
• Hutchison Ports Poland S.à r.l. and Port of Felixstowe Limited
• International Container Terminal Services Inc.
• Mota-Engil Central Europe PPP Road Spółka z o.o.

The companies have until 4 October to submit their tenders. A public-private partnership agreement will then be signed with the successful bidder for the design, build and operation of the new container terminal.

Advice to the contracting authority – Zarząd Morskiego Portu Gdynia S.A. – and the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy is being provided by a consortium of EY, DZP and Databout.

“The increasing number of large, interesting PPP projects in Poland is gratifying. In the case of the Outer Port in Gdynia, the PPP format is perfect. It is a complex and multi-year project in which the unique knowledge and experience of the potential private partners should lead to the raising of project financing, efficient construction, followed by effective operation of the terminal. We are looking forward eagerly to the implementation stage of the project.” say Tomasz Darowski, Partner, and Michał Przychoda, Senior Associate, from the Infrastructure & Energy Practice.

“It is a great pleasure for us to advise on this project, which is highly complex and innovative on the home market. We believe that EY's expertise, broadened by experience with similar projects in other countries, will help this project to be implemented in the optimum form and timeframe and the effects of this successful investment will be felt nationwide. We also hope that the project will pave the way for other investments of this type in Poland, carried out using the public-private partnership format.” said Maciej Ziomek, Associate Partner and leader of EY Poland's Transport and Infrastructure team.

The consortium leader, which is also providing financial advice, is the EY Transport and Infrastructure team, led by Maciej Ziomek, Associate Partner and leader of EY Poland's Transport and Infrastructure team, supported by Jakub Adamski, Senior Manager, and Krzysztof Przybylski, Senior Consultant.

At DZP, the project is being handled by an interdisciplinary team led by Marcin Krakowiak, Partner and Head of the Infrastructure & Energy Practice, and Michał Przychoda, Senior Associate, an expert in PPP projects, supported by Tomasz Darowski and Norbert Zakrzewski. Insurance matters are being handled by Julita Zimoch-Tuchołka, while in the area of public procurement, the advisers are Tomasz Michalczyk and Tomasz Krzyżanowski.

For Databout, the project is being handled by an expert team, experienced in infrastructure projects in the fields of hydro-engineering, road transport, large-scale structures, infrastructure networks and in traffic and multimodal transport analysis. The technical advice provided by Databout particularly includes the preparation of a functional and operational programme, the specification of the investment's operating standards and an estimation of capital expenditure to be taken into account in the project's financial model. At a further stage, Databout and its partners will support the public entity in preparing responses to questions raised by the bidders during the tender procedure.

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About the project:

The project "Construction of an Outer Port at the Port of Gdynia" includes the design, build, financing, equipping, followed by maintenance and operation during the PPP agreement period of the land part of the Outer Port on which a container terminal is to be located with an initial target capacity of 2.5 million TEU per year. During the works, the private partner will also carry out the dredging and reclamation works required to construct the jetty, approach tracks and turntable. The project also includes road and rail access infrastructure to provide connectivity to the terminal area. The public entity is participating in the investment by building breakwaters with the necessary navigation infrastructure.

The PPP agreement will be concluded for a period of around 36 years, including approx. five years for design and construction and approx. 31 years for maintaining and operating the container terminal (infrastructure operation). The first ships should be able to sail into the Outer Port in Gdynia at the end of 2028/beginning of 2029.

This is the largest PPP procedure to be conducted to date in Poland (in terms of estimated total project value).

The construction of the Outer Port at the Port of Gdynia is included in the Strategy for Sustainable Transport Development to 2020 (with a perspective to 2030) as a strategic government project. The project is also on the list of key infrastructure projects of the Baltic-Adriatic TEN-T Corridor in the Gdynia transport hub. The project involves the construction of new deep-water port infrastructure, which will enable the largest ocean-going vessels to be handled and will increase the Port of Gdynia's competitiveness in the Baltic Sea basin.