Poland wants to build a canal through a narrow strip of land that blocks the Vistula Lagoon on the north-east coast from the Baltic Sea. The president of Poland’s ruling party noted the canal will be built through a split of land near the Russian border.
Currently, Polish ships leaving from the port of Elblag have to pass through Russian waters to get to the open sea. The canal will show the Russians the days they dictated to Poland are over, Jaroslaw Kaczynski said.
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Earlier this month Russia made a complaint to the European Commission about the canal. Namely, in a letter to the Commission’s environment and maritime affairs commissionaire, Russia said that it had not been consulted over the canal and that the construction of the waterway threatened the ecology of the lagoon.
Commenting on this letter, Mr. Kaczynski said that Russia has always been opposed to it, with Poland also dismissing Russia’s complaints as an ‘attempt to block this strategic investment for Poland’.
The canal will be 1,100 yards long and 16 feet deep, and its construction is expected to begin later this year. It is due to be completed by 2022.
