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Description
Grupa Amax owns two marinas on the Great Masurian Lakes Trail – in Mikołajki and in Stare Sady. The project aims at increasing access to the marina infrastructure for tourists at Mikołajskie lake. Thanks to the construction of a Multifunctional Sailing Service Platform, we will implement integrated sailing services for customers engaged in water tourism, which will contribute to increasing tourist traffic while respecting the lake ecosystem.
The project consists of four infrastructure tasks: 1. Modernisation of the pier with existing infrastructure in Stare Sady; 2. Creation of 45 moorings in the marina of Mikołajki and the purchase of eight pontoons; 3. Comprehensive modernisation of the boat-building facility in Stawek; and 4. Construction of the Multifunctional Sailing Service Platform with appropriate infrastructure. An integral part of the works in the marinas of Mikołajki and Stare Sady will be the implementation of an original system of marina basin aeration. This will reduce the vegetation cutting in Mikołajskie lake at the depths from 5 m to 2.5 m, and so will have a positive impact on the water ecosystem. It will also provide for the possibility to manage the coastal infrastructure in a more efficient way. The project will reduce the annual carbon emission by 14.33 tons, and electricity consumption by 0.03 GWh as a result of a new photovoltaic system installed on the boat-building facility in Stawek.
Cooperation will be established with a Norwegian partner – InErgeo AS which will provide us with know-how concerning green technological solutions for platforms in marinas and reducing the environmental impact of marinas.
Summary of project results
Grupa Amax Sp. z o.o. which is the project promoter and the owner of two marinas on the Great Masurian Lakes Trail – in Mikołajki and Stare Sady conducted an analysis focused on identifying the weaknesses of the environment of the business and activity at the marinas.
This analysis allowed to identify challenges to be faced and overcame during the implementation of the project.
Firstly, the project promoter as an employer needed to tackle the problems of low level of economic activity of local residents and the seasonality of the local economy.
Secondly, as an entrepreneur in the tourism industry the project promoter was aware of poorly developed and underinvested local tourist base and network infrastructure. It was found out that there is insufficient number of marinas and trails with adequate infrastructure for active and cognitive tourism and a lack of winter and harsh weather infrastructure.
As the result of the analysis, it was determined that the main aim of the project would be the increase of the availability and the improvement of the quality of marina’s infrastructure for tourists on the lake Mikołajskie and the lake Tałckie.
The major ambition of the project promoter was protection of waters and shoreline of the lakes. As the Great Masurian Lakes, like the entire Warmia-Masuria Province, are characterized by a low level of environmental pollution, the most important threats concerned the state of water and were related to their eutrophication which is caused by the pollution. The eutrophication is the process of fertilization of waters, resulting in the overgrowing of lakes and streams mainly due to the supply of phosphorus and nitrogen to them.
The project (Fundusze Norweskie i EOG | Grupa Amax | Grupa Amax Mikołajki) consisted mainly of the infrastructure tasks like modernization of the port and jetty together with the existing infrastructure in the Stare Sady marina on the lake Tałckie and modernization of the port and jetty together with the creation of 45 berths in the Mikołajki marina on the lake Mikołajskie.
Additionally, the tasks in the project also concerned the renovation of the shipyard. The boatbuilding hall was comprehensively modernized, equipped and provided with the photovoltaic power supply system.
Based on the research works the pressure installation systems were deployed in the marinas. The aim of these systems is to eliminate the phenomenon of sedimentation in the space around the piers and to prevent the overgrowing of the lake surface. An integral part of the works was also the implementation of the original aeration system for the marina basin.
Moreover, the multifunctional sailors’ service platform together with the appropriate infrastructure and software for port service had been developed and provided for the customers practicing water tourism to increase the tourist traffic respecting the ecosystem of lakes.
The project was implemented in the partnership with the Norwegian company InErgeo AS which provided the know-how on environmental and pro-ecological technological solutions for port areas and platforms in marinas. This cooperation resulted in reducing the environmental impact of the marinas.
The implementation of the project increased the competitiveness of the project promoter’s business activity thanks to the development and introduction of the innovative solutions improving the accessibility of ports and modernisation of the quays and accompanying port infrastructure. As the business activity of the project promoter is the subject to high seasonality, it would be impossible to implement such innovative and comprehensive project without the public support like the Norway Grants.
The company''s offer has become more competitive comparing to the other service providers present on the market mainly thanks to the modernization of existing infrastructure such as piers and the shipyard. Due to the renovation of the shipyard the season of the business activity has been extended to the winter months and the project promoter’s employees are busy also outside the main season.
The project contributed also to the local socio-economic development by improving the port infrastructure service and implementing the most innovative ecological solutions protecting the natural environment and climate.
Thanks to the installation of the photovoltaic power supply system in the shipbuilding the annual CO2 emissions has been decreased by 14.33 tons and the annual electricity consumption by 0.03 GWh.
The protection of waters and shoreline of the lakes has been ensured thanks to the application of diffusers eliminating the overgrowing of lakes around port quays and implementation of effective methods of collecting the sewage from moored yachts and distribution of water to them.
The installation of the aeration system for the marina basin resulted in the reduction in the cutting of vegetation at depths from 5 m to 2.5 m, and thus had a positive effect on the aquatic ecosystem, and additionally enabled more effective management of the coastal infrastructure.
The project responded also to the need for automating repetitive tasks by the implementation of the software which enabled the sale of the package services, the remote control of the access to the berths in the marinas, monitoring of revenues, media consumption and automation of the customer service process.
The implementation of the multifunctional sailors’ service platform facilitated securing the shoreline of the lakes as the integrated services for sailors could have been moved from the lakeshore into the lake area. The platform allowed for using toilets or showers and collecting waste by the installation of the sewage pump, but also allowed for performing current repairs of sailboats using a handy shipyard workshop.
Summary of bilateral results
The Beneficiary remained in constant contact with the Partner throughout the project implementation period. On July 1, 2024, the project partner visited the Beneficiary to familiarize themselves with the effects of the project and the status of its implementation. During the meeting, representatives of the Amax Group introduced the Partner to the ongoing development process of Mikołajki and the company''s activities. The state of the natural environment of the lakes in this area and the most important environmental challenges were discussed. During the meeting, the issue of water quality was also discussed in the context of the implementation of modern boats, closed toilet systems and the ban on discharging sewage into the lakes. The importance of sustainable development of Mikołajki due to the sensitive aquatic ecosystem in the Masurian lakes was also emphasized.The project partner, i.e. InErgeo, provided consulting services regarding, among others, technological solutions in environmental issues for platforms in the port, analysis of optimal solutions for platform relocation, and knowledge in the field of port management optimization, lean management and optimization of future operating costs.The project Partner stated that, because it was mainly involved in the last part of the project, the value of the service it provided was reduced by 16.70% to PLN 100,000. The Beneficiary will continue contacts with the project partner, but there are no specific plans for further cooperation.