The Racibórz Dolny Reservoir

The installation was designed as a polder, i.e. a dry facility that will only be filled in the event of a flood. When the wave arrives, it will pile up the water, securing an area of about 600 km² from Racibórz through Kędzierzyn-Koźle, Brzeg, Opole, Oława and Wrocław.

In June 2020, the last finishing works were carried out at the reservoir in Racibórz. The installation was designed as a polder, i.e. a dry facility that will only be filled in the event of a flood. When the wave arrives, the polder will pile up the water, securing the area of ​​about 600 km2 from Racibórz through Kędzierzyn-Koźle, Brzeg, Opole, Oława, to Wrocław. The investment will protect nearly 2.5 million inhabitants from the elements in three voivodeships: Śląskie, Opolskie and Dolnośląskie. The overflow and drainage structure is equipped with six main gate valves, the operation of which will be mechanical and automatic.

“The construction of a flood protection reservoir in Racibórz is a unique investment. It ensures the safety of millions of people and hundreds of towns and cities, including Wrocław. We took over construction from another contractor. In total, over a thousand people and more than 200 pieces of equipment were required to complete the contract. Thanks to the very good cooperation with the investor and the World Bank funding the investment, the project was completed in the contractual period. We have the extensive experience and capabilities required to implement hydrotechnical structures,” says Artur Popko, Vice-President of the Management Board – Construction Director at Budimex SA.

 The Racibórz Dolny Reservoir has a total area of 26.3 km2 and a capacity of 185 million cubic metres of water, enough to fill 226 Palaces of Science and Culture in Warsaw. The capacity will be gradually increased to 300 million m3, due to the aggregate to be extracted from the reservoir area. The net value of the construction works performed by Budimex is PLN 672 million.

 “The Racibórz Dolny Reservoir is the largest hydrotechnical investment project in Poland. Over 6.8 million tonnes of soil was used for the construction, enough to fill 130,960 freight cars. In a straight line, such a train would stretch from Racibórz to Madrid,” Artur Popko explains.

The Construction Project

The construction works commenced in November 2017 and lasted for almost 30 months. The redevelopment of the reservoir in Racibórz Dolny was commissioned by the Regional Water Management Authority in Gliwice. The budget for the project originated from the funds of the World Bank, Council of Europe Development Bank, European Union, National Budget and the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management.

Budimex has extensive experience in carrying out hydro-engineering investments. As the general contractor it has reconstructed: ports in Świnoujście and Szczecin, Płonie Channel close to Martwa Wisła in Gdańsk, Rydzyna Reservoir, among others. At present, Budimex is modernizing ports in Gdańsk and improving access to the ports in Gdynia and Świnoujście.