Polish president green-lights strategic Polish canal project
PR dla Zagranicy
Victoria Bieniek
04.04.2017 13:54
Polish President Andrzej Duda has signed plans for the construction of a PLN 880 million (EUR 200 million) canal that will bypass a Russian section of Baltic coastline.
The Vistula Lagoon. Photo: Wikimedia Commons/NASA.
The canal connecting the Vistula Lagoon with Gdańsk Bay will allow deep-draught vessels from Poland’s Elbląg Seaport to enter the Baltic Sea without passing through Russian waters.
Its main aim is to ensure national security by allowing vessels – including rescue boats and border guards – free access to the bay, Poland's ministry of maritime economy and inland navigation said.
Environmental activists have opposed the canal project, arguing that the undertaking would disrupt the migration routes of various animal species.
The Vistula Lagoon, part of the Baltic Sea, is almost entirely cut off from Gdańsk Bay by the Vistula Spit.
The only existing link is the Strait of Baltiysk, located in Russia's Kaliningrad exclave. Construction on the 1.3 km long, five-metre deep Polish canal is expected to start in 2018 and end in 2022. (vb/pk)
Source: PAP, IAR