Polish PM reaffirms plan for strategic canal to Baltic Sea
PR dla Zagranicy
Grzegorz Siwicki
24.08.2018 08:00
Poland’s prime minister has reaffirmed his government’s plan to build a strategic canal in the north of the country.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki briefs reporters during a visit to the northern town of Elbląg on Thursday. Photo: PAP/Tomasz Waszczuk
Five metres deep, the 1.3 km canal between the Vistula Lagoon and Gdańsk Bay in the Baltic Sea is expected to be built by digging through the Vistula Spit, which separates the bay from the lagoon on Polish territory.
The aim is to allow deep-draught vessels to enter Poland’s Elbląg seaport without passing through the Strait of Baltiysk in Russia's Kaliningrad exclave.
“We will go ahead with work to cut through the Vistula Spit,” Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki declared on Thursday.
Speaking at a meeting with voters in Elbląg, Morawiecki said his government had set aside funds for the project in the budget.
Marek Gróbarczyk, the Minister of Maritime Economy and Inland Navigation, last autumn named the village of Nowy Świat as the best location where to cut across the Vistula Spit.
Construction is due to start in the final quarter of this year once an environmental impact study is completed, Poland’s PAP news agency reported on Thursday.
According to estimates last year, the project is expected to cost Poland PLN 880 million (EUR 208 million, USD 246 million) and be completed by 2022.
(gs)
Source: PAP