Posted on July 20, 2026
Infrastructure minister Dariusz Klimczak marked the launch of construction on July 13, describing the project as critical to helping Poland compete with Europe’s leading ports. The terminal is explicitly positioned to rival Hamburg, Europe’s third-largest container port, which currently handles approximately 7.8 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) annually.
Deputy infrastructure minister Arkadiusz Marchewka emphasized the port’s regional significance, noting it will serve not only Poland but also eastern Germany and landlocked Central European nations including the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria and Hungary.
Strategic Infrastructure for Central Europe
The ambitious project was conceived under the previous Law and Justice (PiS) administration. Marek Gróbarczyk, who served as deputy infrastructure minister under that government, stated in 2023 that Świnoujście would become serious competition for Hamburg within six to seven years.
The current centre-left government led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk has embraced the strategic initiative, highlighting its potential to boost Poland’s maritime sector and enhance the country’s position in European logistics infrastructure.
According to Brussels Signal, the port will feature a 17-metre-deep basin and a 1.3-kilometer main quay capable of simultaneously handling three ocean-going container ships, including two vessels up to 400 metres in length and one of 250 metres.
Massive Infrastructure Development
Initial construction has begun with a technical access road and supporting infrastructure to provide heavy equipment and construction crews access to the offshore site. This phase is expected to take 10 months, with the road spanning more than 2.5 kilometers and carrying power supply and storm drainage lines.
The broader infrastructure work includes deepening a 70-kilometer approach channel, building over three kilometers of new railway track within a 47-hectare road and rail complex, and creating 186 hectares of reclaimed land in the Bay of Pomerania.
The port authority, Zarząd Morskich Portów Szczecin i Świnoujście, is responsible for approximately 1.5 billion złoty (€350 million) of the total budget. More than 7 billion złoty (€1.63 billion) has been earmarked in the state budget for the channel, basin and landside works. A 2023 contract with a Belgian-Qatari consortium no longer applies, with Polish companies now set to construct the port.
Competition in the Baltic
The new facility is expected to have an annual handling capacity of 2 million TEU. Polish ports collectively handled a record 3.9 million TEU in 2025.
Poland’s largest port, Gdańsk, completed its own expansion last year, increasing annual capacity by almost 1.5 million TEU to reach 4.5 million TEU. Its Baltic Hub terminal handled 2,767,287 TEU in 2025, representing a 23 percent increase over the previous year.
Environmental Opposition
Despite plans to incorporate zero-emission cargo-handling technologies and shore power systems to reduce emissions and noise, the construction has faced vigorous opposition from environmental activists in both Poland and Germany who object to building such a large facility within a protected natural area.
On August 4, 2025, the Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw dismissed legal challenges from the German group Bürgerinitiative Lebensraum Vorpommern, based on the island of Usedom, and the Polish association Zielone Wyspy Świnoujście. Both organizations had argued the port could cause significant environmental damage. The ruling is not final and may still be appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court.
The July 13 construction inauguration was also met with a small protest from local Świnoujście residents.
