Deputy Infrastructure Minister Arkadiusz Marchewka said the reworked concept will allow the world’s largest container ships to call and deliver faster returns than a previous plan prepared under the former government.
He said the project secures the port’s development “for decades.”
The external port will be larger than designs tabled in 2023 and built entirely by Polish state entities. The Szczecin–Świnoujście Seaports Authority (ZMPSiŚ) will deliver the marine and landside infrastructure. A 2023 agreement with a Belgian-Qatari consortium is no longer in force after a consortium member failed to meet financing obligations, port chief Jarosław Siergiej said.
ZMPSiŚ cited experience from major builds, including the LNG terminal in Świnoujście. While it will construct the infrastructure and manage the land, the authority will invite operators—potentially including the earlier consortium—to bid to equip and run the terminal.
Preparatory steps completed over the past 18 months include location and environmental decisions, seabed studies and the port basin design. A contractor for a technical access road is to be chosen in the first quarter of 2026, enabling construction to start in 2027.
Reclamation will require more than 20 million tons of sand to create the 186-hectare site. Dredging works—19 million tons of material—will deepen the approach, add a turning circle and build the basin. A 47-hectare new road layout, located 4 km from the city, is intended to limit disruption for residents.
The investment, estimated at about PLN 10 billion (EUR 2.35 billion), includes a 70-km approach fairway 500 meters wide and 17 meters deep, breakwaters, 2,900 meters of quays, two 3-km rail approaches and a siding with ten 800-meter tracks, plus new energy infrastructure.
The hub is designed to handle 400-meter container ships and process up to 2 million TEU annually.
(jh)
Source: Polskie Radio 24