DCT Gdansk, the Macquarie-backed terminal operator, has announced a new expansion programme worth PLN280 million (US$77 million) on the occasion of its 10^th anniversary and the visit of Deputy Prime Minister Mr Morawiecki,

DCT Gdansk is Poland’s largest and only deep-water container terminal.

DCT Gdansk started operations in 2007, with one deep-water berth equipped with three Ship-to-Shore (STS) cranes and a total annual capacity of 500 000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent). In 10 years the terminal has grown 6-fold as at the end of 2016 Terminal 2 opened, lifting total capacity to 3 million TEU, making the facility the largest in the Baltic Sea.

Today DCT Gdansk has 1.3km of deep-water quay-line, eleven STS cranes, and handles over 460 vessels per year, including over 100 direct calls from Asia by the largest container vessels in the world.

Cameron Thorpe, DCT Gdansk Chief Executive Officer, said:

“I’m extremely proud of the team here at DCT and all they’ve achieved over the last 10 years. This new investment shows the confidence our investors have in the future of Poland and that DCT will continue to focus on service excellence for the benefit of all of our valued customers. Of course, DCT Gdansk is also one of the most efficient ways to connect to the upper Baltic Sea market and is one of the most cost competitive ways to serve the hinterland markets of the Czech Republic and Slovakia and elsewhere. DCT Gdansk really is the gateway to Central Europe”.

On the berth it will include two new STS cranes which will be amongst the largest in the world. These will be supported by 5 more RTGs and additional yard area.

The gate complex will be fully optimized and automated, so that drivers will no-longer have to exit their vehicles improving their safety and making the arrival process even more efficient.

For its rail customers there will be a significant upgrade in rail capacity, with a fifty-percent increase in rail lines to six sidings, all of which will be extended to 750m – currently the longest possible in Europe. This enhanced rail operation will be handled by two new RMGs. This investment will further improve service levels to rail customers and also provide customers in land-locked countries such as the Czech Republic and Slovakia with a reliable and efficient alternative to established hubs by providing the lowest cost to access the industrial heartlands of those countries.

The project is due to be completed within the next 3-years, strengthening DCT Gdansk’s position as a unique logistics platform providing efficient international transshipment to the upper Baltic as well as the most cost-effective gateway to Poland Central Eastern Europe.

DCT Gdansk is owned by Macquarie Global Infrastructure Fund II (64%), MTAA Superannuation Fund (18%), Statewide Superannuation Trust (9%) and the Westscheme Fund (9%).