Industry
Shipyard in Szczecin Controlled by PGZ
I can assure you that Polish Ministry of Defence is vividly interested in opening this shipyard as soon as possible. I hope that the tradition would be restored, and that the results would exceed what we have achieved so far – as it was stated by the Polish Minister of Defence, during his visit at the Szczecin shipyard which, starting from 20th January, has belonged to the PGZ. The goal of the reactivation is to recover the capabilities of the Polish shipbuilding industry. The transaction value amounts to PLN 100 million.
Last Friday, an agreement has been signed, in line with which the property of the former Shipyard of Szczecin, nowadays known as “Szczeciński Park Przemysłowy”, has been taken over by the MARS Investment Fund. The goal of that, as it was stressed in an interview for the Polish Radio in Szczecin, by Minister Marek Gróbarczyk, is to create one of the largest shipyard groups in Europe. The said group of entities should be capable of performing the work related to the orders received, pertaining to shipbuilding. Gróbarczyk also announced that the transaction value is equal to PLN 100 million.
On Monday, 23rd January, at the Szczecin Shipyard, a press conference was organized, covering the prospects of the Polish shipbuilding industry, involving the Polish Minister of Defence, Antoni Macierewicz, as well as the Polish Minister of Economy, Mateusz Morawiecki. Polish Defence Minister stressed the fact that the Ministry is very interested in the state in which the Polish shipbuilding industry found itself, while PGZ also has made some plans, the goal of which would be to recover the production capacity at the relevant plants in Gdynia and Szczecin.
MARS is going to take over 100% of shares at the Szczecin Industrial Park, and then the restored Szczecin Shipyard would become a part of the Polish shipbuilding potential. In this way, the largest shipbuilding group of Baltic and Europe is being established. It is a symbol, which shows what plan we have in mind, when reactivating the Szczecin Shipyard. We have made great commitments towards the national security (…). I can assure you that Polish Ministry of Defence is vividly interested in opening this shipyard as soon as possible. I hope that the tradition would be restored, and that it would exceed what we have achieved so far.
Minister Mateusz Morawiecki stressed the meaning, the shipbuilding industry has for the Sustainable Development Plan, currently implemented by the Polish government. He also noted that one of the goals is to recover the Western Pomerania and symbolically give it back to the Polish economy.
The shipbuilding industry became a symbol of lost opportunities, in the Third Polish Republic. We want to give Szczecin and (Western) Pomerania back to the Polish economy. Step by step, we are getting closer to a vision in which shipyards are becoming one of the driving wheels of the Polish industry. (...) We need to get past the time, during which the Polish boys were leaving for Danish or Dutch shipbuilding companies.
As a result of the fact that it has been bought by the Polish Armaments Group, the Szczecin Shipyard is going to gradually recover its capabilities. The goal of the above is to build vessels for the Polish Steamship Company. The manufacturing processes at the Szczecin Nowa shipyard have been suspended since January 2009. Decision made by the European Commission was the reason for the above, as the EU body had assumed that state assistance provided to the shipyards of Gdynia and Szczecin by the Polish government had been illegal. The shipyard’s property has been sold, the employees have been fired.