The European Investment Bank (EIB) has provided a EUR 38 million loan to Szczecin and Świnoujście Seaports Authority for investments improving the seaports’ nautical access and quay infrastructure.
The loan is a part of a larger framework financing programme agreed by the EIB and the Polish government last year and amounting to some EUR 298 million. The programme is expected to support employment in the Polish seaports and in the industries depending on them for efficient logistics and production.
According to Arkadiusz Sekscinski, Vice-President of Polish Wind Energy Association’s (PWEA) Board, the offshore wind development has already brought major opportunities to the Polish economy, mainly in shipbuilding and port industry, with Polish companies winning contracts in the sector for building ships, towers, foundations, platforms and other equipment for offshore wind farms.
“We have a quite strong supply chain for the offshore wind industry. The production of foundations, towers and other components for offshore wind turbines as well as dedicated wind farm construction vessels has already become the speciality of the Polish shipyards in Gdynia and Gdańsk, which soon will be joined by Szczecin and Świnoujście,” Sekscinski told Offshore WIND in an interview last year.
Szczecin has already marked its spot on the industry map with steel foundations manufacturers Finomar, Bladt Industries that has an office in the city, ST3 Offshore (Stettin Steel Structures Offshore), which bought the manufacturing facility for wind turbine foundations from Bilfinger Mars Offshore last year.
Also, Polenergia , which plans to build the 600MW Baltic Środkowy III (Baltic Middle III) offshore wind farm in the Polish part of the Baltic Sea, last year said the Pomeranian ports could soon become bases for construction and service companies working in the offshore wind sector.
Offshore WIND Staff