Vistula Spit, Poland

The Vistula Spit project, located at the Bay of Gdańsk in Poland, marks the first international application of the innovative XblocPlus concrete armour unit. The main goal of this ambitious project was to construct a new shipping channel connecting the Vistula Lagoon with the Gulf of Gdańsk, thereby boosting maritime traffic and supporting the port of Elbląg. To protect the entrance channel from harsh sea conditions, two breakwaters were built: the eastern breakwater stretches 900 meters, while the western breakwater measures 300 meters in length. These structures were primarily reinforced with XblocPlus units, with regular Xbloc blocks used at the heads of the breakwaters where tighter curves were required.

The XblocPlus units were produced in three sizes—1 m³, 3 m³, and 4 m³—ranging in weight from 2.34 to 9.6 tonnes. The smallest units were used on the inner side of the eastern breakwater, medium-sized units on the western breakwater and shallower sections, and the largest blocks in the deepest, most exposed areas. In total, nearly 10,000 XblocPlus units were installed, amounting to 21,000 m³ of concrete. Construction began in 2019, the first XblocPlus units were placed in 2020, and the project reached completion in 2023.