On Thursday afternoon, May 2, the Polish vice Minister of Maritime Economy and Inland Waterways Grzegorz Witkowski together with Ystad’s chair of the Municipal executive board, Kristina Bendz, turned the first sod in Port of Ystad’s new building project, part of the EU project ”Cargo Capacity Upgrade and LNG Bunkering Swinoujscie - Ystad maritime link”. In addition to the building of two new ferry berths, the project encompasses an LNG (liquid natural gas) powered vessel for the Polish shipping company Polferries, and an LNG bunkering ship for the port of Swinoujscie.

The ground-breaking ceremony also celebrated the well-established cooperation between Swedish and Polish stakeholders. A speech was held by the Polish vice Minister Grzegorz Witkowski, emphasizing the importance of a strong continued trans-Baltic cooperation, as well as pointing out that the Polish government welcomes future cooperation and further development of the Swedish/Polish link via Port of Ystad.

The two guests of honour, Kristina Bendz and Grzegorz Witkowski, operating excavators, each placed a rock on what will become Port of Ystad’s new breakwater in a symbolic gesture. The construction of the berths as well as the breakwater is estimated to be finished by the end of next year.

”This ground-breaking ceremony corroborates the significance of Port of Ystad in Sweden as well as internationally. Together with dignitaries representing both politics and the business sector we have come together to celebrate the start of our long-awaited construction project. The celebration is a confirmation of how we have managed to establish the Port's importance both for Sweden and in Poland,” said Björn Boström, CEO of Port of Ystad. ”We have experienced a significant increase in cargo and passenger traffic to and from Poland and the prognosis indicates that the numbers will only grow. Therefore, it is of great importance that we can increase the Port’s capacity, and we will now continue working towards improving hinterland access to the Port. An upgrade of the E65 road between Malmö and Ystad is henceforth one of our top priorities”, Boström added.