Gdynia risks costly investment to avert losing passenger lines to Gdansk

The board of the Maritime Port in Gdynia will expand its passenger ferry port in an investment valued at zl. 7 million. This investment will allow them to keep the Scandinavian ferry operator Stena Line in Gdynia, although they were previously threatening to move to the competing port of Gdansk. Krzysztof Gromadowski, deputy president of the Maritime Port in Gdynia, told Puls Biznesu they intend to modernize the passport and customs control points and expand the passenger terminal. The Port authorities will finance the investment from their own means and should complete the reconstruction by autumn 2002. Although this may be a risky step for Gdynia port, as its profits will decrease drastically this year - from zl. 23.4 million to approximately zl. 7.6 million, it is also a necessary one. Scandinavian ferry operator Stena Line is planning to expand its presence on the Polish market next year by introducing two new connections and Gdynia's current infrastructure cannot handle such traffic. (Puls Biznesu, p. 7) M.T.K.