Final environmental decision for container terminal in Świnoujście

Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Arkadiusz Marchewka announced on Monday that a complaint by a German non-governmental organisation regarding the construction of a terminal in Świnoujście had been rejected. Marchewka conveyed that the issued environmental decision for this investment is final.

Information about the rejection of the complaint against the environmental decision issued by the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection in Szczecin concerning the construction of a container terminal in Świnoujście was communicated by Deputy Minister Marchewka on social media.

– There is a final environmental decision for the container terminal in Świnoujście! The objection prepared by a German NGO was not taken into account and we have obtained the final environmental decision. Another very important step in the realisation of the investment made,’ wrote Marchewka on the “X” platform and Facebook.

In an interview with PAP, the deputy minister recalled that the environmental decision issued by the General Directorate for Environmental Protection was challenged in November 2023 by the German organisation Bürgerinitiative Lebensraum Vorpommern (BLV). Environmentalists from Vorpommern accused the Polish administrative authorities of failing to take into account the impact of the investment on the Baltic Sea and marine protected areas when issuing the decision.

The Szczecin and Świnoujście Seaports Authority, which is responsible for the land part of the planned container terminal, had to supplement the investment documentation.

– The port, which was the applicant for this decision, had to carry out a number of analytical and research works, e.g. underwater noise levels had to be checked,’ Marchewka told PAP. ‘The decision now issued by the GDOŚ is final. We will now await the construction permit. We will start with the construction of the so-called technical road to the terminal,’ the deputy minister announced.

He reminded that the construction of the new container port in Świnoujście is to be completed at the turn of 2028 and 2029.

– When the terminal is commissioned it will handle the largest container ships in the world. What lies ahead is a great boost for the economy, but also a strengthening of the country’s security in the broadest sense,’ emphasised Marchewka.

In an interview with PAP, the deputy minister noted that in addition to the appeal procedure concerning the environmental decision, the proceedings concerning the location decision for the container terminal issued by the West Pomeranian Voivode were also successfully completed. The location decision was challenged by the City of Świnoujście in May 2024. The case went to the Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw last autumn, which rejected the local government’s complaint.

‘Construction of the Container Terminal in the External Port in Świnoujście’ is a project for which the land part is the responsibility of ZMPSiŚ, while the maritime part of the investment (including the preparation of a new approach track of about 70 km in length) will be implemented by the Maritime Office in Szczecin.

– We are still waiting for the environmental decision on the Maritime Office’s investment. In recent months, we have signed a number of contracts to carry out work such as a survey of the seabed,’ concluded Marchewka.

The infrastructure of the deepwater container terminal in Świnoujście is to be built by a consortium of Qterminals from Qatar and Deme Concessions from Belgium. The onshore part of the investment is to cost around 1.2 million PLN. The cost of the approach track is estimated at 10 billion PLN, while the construction of the jetty at 2.5 billion PLN.

Source: PortalMorski.