German campaign against the construction of the port in Świnoujście. Jablonski: There will be blockades by ecologists and activists because it's all about hard business

A shipping container terminal was to be built in Swinoujscie in seven years, along with a dredged waterway for large ships. The investment is likely to be stopped by Donald Tusk’s current ruling team. German ecologists, local governments and, above all, the rival port of Hamburg do not want it. The campaign against the construction is just getting underway

— alarms former Deputy Minister Pawel Jablonski. According to Jablonski, one of its components is the opinion of a representative of the port of Hamburg published in „Rzeczpospolita”.

Germans scared of competition

Pawel Jablonski says there are plans to block all the investments that are important to Poland.

We have already received signals from Germany that there will be attempts to block the investments that are important to Poland in the coming weeks, namely the improvement of shipping on the Oder River, the expansion of the port in Swinoujscie, CPK (Central Communication Port), the nuclear power plant. All this will be blocked by so-called activist ecologists under noble slogans of environmental protection, and this is what you will hear in the media. In fact, this is not about ecology and environmental protection, but about hard business

— said Pawel Jablonski in a recording posted on the platform.

Referring to an article in Business Insider, he stresses that Germany is furious because it is now starting to lose the market competition with Poland. After becoming a road power, we are beginning to effectively compete for sea routes and port handling.

„BI” quotes Eurostat data that last year Polish ports recorded a record turnover of goods. They handled 116.2 million tons of cargo, which is 21.5 million tons more than a year earlier. This represents a 23 percent increase. We are climbing the ladder of profits brought by the ports, which irritates the Germans. The port of Hamburg earned last year. 93 million euros, while the port in Swinoujscie has so far earned one-third of that amount. That will change, however, because after expansion, the Swinoujscie port is set to significantly increase its handling capacity, thereby taking customers away from Hamburg. In November, the Szczecin and Swinoujscie Seaports Authority already signed a preliminary agreement with a consortium of DEME CONCESSIONS N.V. and QTERMINALS W.L.L. for the lease, expansion, financing and operation of the port area.

The campaign is being launched

Port investments in Poland are financed mainly with EU funds, which makes the Germans all the more concerned. „Rzeczpospolita” quotes a representative of the Port of Hamburg, Maciej Brzozowski, who argues that the deep-water Container Terminal in Swinoujscie is a bad idea.

It is an extremely expensive investment, given that a new waterway is necessary

• claims Brzozowski on Rz and calls it an unnecessary expense. He admits, however, that Swinoujscie will take transshipments away from other ports, but according to him, it will take them away from Polish ports not Hamburg, and he predicts its bankruptcy.

Law and Justice MP Jabłonski further provided an entry criticizing Brzozowski’s opinion.

Everything is already clear on the construction of a new port in Swinoujscie; we are not supposed to build it because an expert on this market for „Rzeczpospolita” said that it is not a good idea … this expert is actually also a representative of the Port of Hamburg in Poland, it must be a coincidence.

— reads the entry.

Tłum.K.J.