Andrzej Bojanowski and the Future of the Port of Gdańsk: an insightful interview [part 2]

In the second part of our interview, President Andrzej Bojanowski, recently appointed to the Supervisory Board of the Port of Gdańsk, shares his observations on the directions of port development. President Bojanowski draws a comprehensive picture of the challenges and opportunities facing the port in the face of dynamic geopolitical, economic and environmental changes.

Andrzej Bojanowski, member of the Supervisory Board of the Port of Gdańsk, continues to discuss future port plans

Mariusz Dasiewicz: Mr President, you were recently appointed to the Supervisory Board of the Port of Gdańsk. What elements of your professional experience do you consider most valuable in the context of new responsibilities? How do you intend to use your experience to shape a port development strategy?

Andrzej Bojanowski: Working on the Management Board of the Maritime Port of Gdańsk from 2002 to 2006 I was responsible for creating both financial and investment policy. Now my role has changed somewhat. Unfortunately, the current strategy papers are so general that they fit well with any company of such importance.

Based on my many years of experience working in the City Office (I took part in the formation of two Strategies and many documents operating their implementation) as well as in the current company in which I work today, i.e. the International Fair of Gdańsk S.A., I can clearly say that the most suitable documents can only be prepared with the active role of stakeholders.

I mean the difficult way of discussion – starting with correct diagnosis, by employees, business partners, ending with both spatial and socio-economic surroundings. It is a difficult task without a guarantee of success, but I can't imagine implementing strategic projects differently today.

Of course, sometimes we are successful, but we cannot rely only on happiness. The port is currently successful in dealing with cargo, but there are doubts about its sustainability. It is therefore necessary to develop a multi-annual strategy, which will not only take account of current geopolitical conditions, but will also enable us to respond flexibly to changing market conditions.

I have the impression that the current situation in ports is the result of only reactive action, without further strategic reflection on the future, which is also reflected in the current communication policy.

The need to work, under the conditions mentioned by me, on a strategy that contains a very important element of investment in infrastructure and answers to the question: why and for whom are we building it? What charges are to be permanently found on these quays or squares? The strategy should take into account the provisions of the strategic documents of the city of the voivodship, as well as the states. We are a port of strategic importance, but we also have a direct impact on the immediate surroundings and the municipality, which is why it is our responsibility.

Part of the operation could be moved out of port areas. An example is the situation in which we used the areas around the adjacent stadium to store imported cars, which shows that not all cargoes must occupy valuable port spaces. Instead, it is worth considering using these areas to build cold stores, which would contribute to increasing food security in the country, and to triggering the transit of these products.

These are dilemmas that I do not know the answers to today, but we should create a suitable plan to implement, which will ensure its feasibility. Certainly, working on this strategy will be a major challenge that will take us at least a year.

M.D.: In the context of your new role, what main strategic objectives do you see for the Port of Gdańsk, especially in the face of a changing economic and environmental environment?

Andrzej Bojanowski: I think we should continue the strategic thought of the universal port. In this direction we should prepare both owners and the environment. This will build sustainable growth. We should strive to optimise cargo, look for new opportunities for energy transformation – both in port operations and global ones, in which our terminals can play an important role.

We often have problems identifying trends and long-term changes and "grams" over short distances. We must strive to identify a relatively constant vision and response in the area of possible temporary deviations. We will not build sustainable growth on oil or on coal, what is more, unconscionable container policy with terminals can be deceptive.

Read more about vision, ambition and future of shipbuilding industry according to the President of BALTEXPO Andrzej Bojanowski [VIEW Part 1]

Today, it is really not easy to justify why ports should have access to non-refundable EU aid with substantial profits and overliquidities in their accounts. Of course, it is a question of dialogue with port operators and perhaps a redefined port function in strategic infrastructure – including critical.

M.D.: As a member of the Supervisory Board, what areas of international cooperation and technological innovation do you consider crucial for strengthening the position of Port Gdańsk on the global market?

Andrzej Bojanowski: My historical experience of working in the port gave me a lot. I actively drew from it in management trials at the City Office, where I had the honor of working at the invitation of President Paul Adamowicz.

Now I'm in the opposite position. I come from "town" and see the port as part of it. In fact, a synergistic small city – with its infrastructure, investment problems, as well as social care and function. Gdansk made great progress because we did not avoid "watching" and drawing from the experiences of others. We did not avoid visiting the best, praising them for their accomplishments, but by building strong relationships enough to get information about what they failed to do, what could be improved.

We tried to implement all these things in Gdańsk that we observed and went out: in Germany (Dusseldorf or Bremen), in France (Le Havre). Belgium (Gent), but also in Poland – such as in Wroclaw or Krakow.

We did it the same way, although I feel better. That's how we learned. Of course, by sharing with others (for example, as the City we co-founded the Union of Cities and Marine Commons). I think that this is the way we should proceed and this is a good direction, also for the port in Gdańsk. The port infrastructure in Europe is at the highest level, so we have someone to learn from. We have Rotterdam, Antwerp, Hamburg, Bremen or the largest inland port in Duisburg.

I have the impression that our port development strategy is similar to that of Bremen. Bremen initially developed the city port, and now key development was moved to Bremerhaven. In fact, our concept of the Central Port is nothing more than the concept of Bremerhaven, but on a different scale.

M.D: Given the environmental challenges, what environmental and sustainable development initiatives do you plan to support to make Port Gdańsk a leader in a sustainable maritime economy?

Andrzej Bojanowski: Port is an integral part of the city of Gdańsk and the entire voivodship. Our activity affects the environment very much. We are on the verge of capacity of the North Port railway station (recently upgraded) We are facing the challenge of building another bridge and further access lines to the port, another warheads at the Port North station, allowing access to internal lines. This has a great impact on removing excess traffic from roads in a wider environment than the city of Gdańsk.

Serious discussion and relocation should be subject to the placement of bulk cargo in the internal port – especially on the urban side. If we want to build new mass terminals, we also have to wonder in which formula to manage this to limit the impact of dust on the immediate neighbourhood.

We have an energy transformation ahead of us that everyone talks about like YETI. To say half with a joke, half seriously – everyone has heard of it, but nobody has seen it yet. The port is today at a time of development when it faces urgent decisions on alternative fuels and infrastructure necessary for them. We also have some inconsistencies in our activities, where PG Exploitation is reportedly buying modern hybrid cranes and putting them on the wharfs where there is not enough electrical power installed.

It seems that there is no vision of how we want to implement the transformation without forgetting that it is very capital-intensive. There should be funds from the KPO at a possible disposal. Maybe you have to fight in Warsaw to move the money? We have a special bill and we can become a very good mechanism to solve the problems of the country in their implementation.

The Board of Port must expand the energy and environmental space, enrich it with the experience of people and draw on the previous implementations of the Municipal Office in Gdańsk and Pomeranian Office: the Marshal Office and the Provincial Office. We need one vote here. We don't have much time. We have two years to implement the KPO. It seems the simplest thing to do in energy.

It is also worth remembering about the ESG, which will soon be a duty for many entities, for example, to receive financing for strategic investments or even to be a contract barrier.

M.D.: How do you see the future of the Port of Gdańsk in the light of global trends in maritime transport? What strategic steps do you consider necessary to keep the port competitive and dynamic in the coming years?

Andrzej Bojanowski: First of all, we should be betting on operators, who not only give the best rates of current leases, but have a good plan for the development and acquisition of new loads, are flexible. Those who persuade us to do so should gain the recognition of the Port Board as long-standing partners.

Openness hasn't hurt anyone yet, and monopolies are difficult. This was an example of the decision to build T1 and the agreement for the creation of Baltic Hub (formerly DCT). Because it is a universal terminal, in the long term it means greater flexibility and safety for a stable increase in handling. The above terminal is also a good example for us to build strategic alliances with proven customers (Nec Temere Nec Timide).

Mariusz Dasiewicz spoke. Thank you very much for the insights that shed light on the future development of the Port of Gdańsk.