Gdynia and Szczecin need state investment

Polish treasury minister Aleksander Grad announced last week that “To make the restructuring effective, it is necessary to provide additional public aid to the shipyards. Shipyards in Gdynia and Gdansk need z³.835 million, while the Szczecin shipyard – z³.400 million. We realize that these sums might be shocking, but without these funds there will be no chance for saving the firms.”

Additional financial support will be provided from the Enterprise Restructuring Fund (FRP) and transferring shares of other companies to the shipyards. “The shipyard in Szczecin has z³.1.3 billion in losses, while Gdynia – z³.1.2 billion. Gdynia shipyard debts amount to z³.2 billion, while in Szczecin – approximately z³.1 billion. Almost all contracts of these shipyards are non-profitable,” said the minister.

The plan will be presented to the European Commission on 12 September and the hope is that the shipyards might be saved.