On Monday, the Provincial Administrative Court (WSA) in Warsaw dismissed complaints filed by environmental organizations against the environmental permit for the construction of the container terminal in Świnoujście. The ruling is not final, and the parties have the right to appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court (NSA).

The complaints against the environmental decision issued by the General Director for Environmental Protection (GDOŚ) concerning the construction of the deep-water container terminal in Świnoujście were filed by two organizations: the German group Bürgerinitiative Lebensraum Vorpommern from the island of Usedom, and the Polish organization Zielone Wyspy Świnoujście.

The Warsaw court rejected both complaints. Judge Anita Wielopolska stated that after reviewing the extensive body of evidence, the court found that GDOŚ had fully complied with the applicable legal provisions.

"The necessary consultations with relevant authorities were conducted, all required opinions were obtained, and all objections raised in the appeals were addressed," she emphasized.

The judge also noted that GDOŚ had analyzed and responded to all allegations made by the German organization. Moreover, the investor, the Szczecin and Świnoujście Seaports Authority, had been instructed to supplement the environmental report, and it fulfilled this obligation.

“Contrary to the German association’s claims, their comments and suggestions were taken into account. Consultations were held, including transboundary consultations, which were formally concluded with a protocol incorporating all findings,” Judge Wielopolska said.

She added that there were no grounds to annul GDOŚ’s decision.

“In the court’s view, the decision was lawful and there is no reason to remove it from legal circulation,” she concluded.

Jarosław Siergiej, President of the Szczecin–Świnoujście Seaports Authority, expressed satisfaction with the ruling.

“The investment will proceed. That was the plan from the beginning. Construction will move forward,” he said after the hearing.

Siergiej recalled that on July 21, the court had suspended the execution of the environmental decision. “We filed a complaint, and the court will next consider our appeal against that ruling,” he added.

The construction of the deep-water container terminal in Świnoujście – in the form of an “external port” – is one of the largest projects in Poland’s maritime economy. The investor is the Szczecin and Świnoujście Seaports Authority, and the project is coordinated by the Ministry of Infrastructure.

The terminal is scheduled for completion by 2029. In February this year, GDOŚ issued the environmental permit enabling the project to proceed. At the end of March, it was challenged by the German organization Bürgerinitiative Lebensraum Vorpommern from Usedom. The case documentation was transferred from GDOŚ to the Warsaw court on May 7. The German group also requested suspension of the decision’s enforceability pending the court’s review.

The complaint to the WSA is part of a broader legal battle over the location and conditions for constructing the external port in Świnoujście, which is intended to handle large container vessels. In 2024, the city of Świnoujście challenged the location decision for the terminal issued by the West Pomeranian Voivode. In autumn 2023, Lebensraum Vorpommern appealed the initial environmental permit issued by the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection (RDOŚ) in Szczecin, arguing that the project’s impact on the Baltic Sea and protected marine areas had not been sufficiently considered. In the appeal proceedings conducted by GDOŚ in 2024, the Ports Authority had to supplement its documentation.

The new environmental permit issued in February was again challenged by the German environmental group. Deputy Infrastructure Minister Arkadiusz Marchewka noted in a PAP interview that Lebensraum Vorpommern raised concerns about unexploded ordnance on the Baltic seabed and warned of chemical weapons remnants from World War II.

“The planned investment area has been surveyed. If any unexploded ordnance is found, our Navy will handle it. I find the arguments raised by the complainants to be absurd,” he said.

The Świnoujście container terminal is expected to cost around PLN 2.5 billion, with associated maritime infrastructure estimated at PLN 10 billion. The terminal is designed to handle the largest transoceanic vessels (up to 400 meters) that enter the Baltic Sea.

A new approach fairway to Świnoujście, 65 kilometers long and 17 meters deep, is planned as part of a separate project carried out by the Maritime Office in Szczecin. The terminal, capable of simultaneously servicing two large container ships, will be constructed by a consortium of companies from Qatar and Belgium.

gkc/ malk/