A gigantic container port is being built in Świnoujście. The inhabitants of the village on the German side of the island of Usedom want to prevent its construction. The project puts Polish-German relations to the test, writes the weekly Die Zeit.
dr. Chocian: “This disrupts Germany’s transport logic”
Just eight kilometers in a straight line from the spa town of Ahlbeck, a gigantic container port is to be built. Built as planned, it would be one of the largest in the Baltic Sea with a capacity of two million standard containers per year. In comparison, there are almost nine million of them in Hamburg.
Uznam sees itself as a faraway holiday paradise
– writes “Zeit”. The mayors of the island want to stop construction.
The only problem is that they can hardly do anything about it. The port is being built in Świnoujście. The town is also on Usedom, but not on the German side of the island, but on the Polish side. And the government in Warsaw doesn’t seem very interested in the Germans’ opinion on their plans
– underlines the German newspaper.
When the plans for the port were announced in 2018, initially only a group of local residents was involved in the case. Most of them are pensioners, organized in a citizens’ initiative called “Lebensraum Vorpommern”.
They meticulously examined Polish building plans, collected thousands of signatures, shocked the mayor, including the state government – and won two MEPs as supporters
– we are reading.
MEPs have “provided expert advice on the possible consequences of a port operation. From the north, shipping traffic along the neighboring island of Rügen could increase by 50 percent, according to the report. The port is partly being built in a nature reserve (…). It’s hard to imagine how such a construction could have a “minimal environmental impact,” as the Polish Ministry of Infrastructure requested, Zeit writes.
Meanwhile, the government of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has asked Poland to be included in the approval process. This is mandatory under international treaties and EU directives.
However, there was no reply to the letter of the end of February
– informs the weekly newspaper.
“The dispute with Poland would appear at the wrong time “
A dispute with Poland would have come at an inappropriate time
– notes ‘Zeit’. After years of defrauding a neighboring country with its policies towards Russia and support for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig is now trying to limit the damage. And expand economic relations with the eastern neighbor.”
The German part of Uznam “is already very different from the Polish”, the newspaper writes. In Ahlbeck, Heringsdorf and Bansin, “vacationers in search of peace, quiet, natural dunes and the charm of old villas are in the spotlight”. In Świnoujście, hotel complexes “rise above the treetops, along the promenade there are fast food booths and shopping centers. In the evenings there are disco clubs on the beach.
Janusz Żmurkiewicz, who has already been elected mayor of Świnoujście six times, when asked “Die Zeit” “outlined his vision of the city in a few e-mails. Industry and tourism must develop in equal measure. He wants the port “larger.” The maritime economy already accounts for the bulk of tax revenues and I want to increase it even more.”
The fears of the Germans are not new, writes Żmurkiewicz; similar criticism has already appeared during the construction of the LNG terminal. But: “It had no effect on the number of visitors, even though huge gas ships are now landing here.”
Germany – the mayor tells us between the lines – always complains
– writes “Zeit”.
Neither the port authority nor the city of Świnoujście want to answer the questions when construction will start and how big the port will actually be.
The Warsaw Ministry of Infrastructure claims it takes the “environmental aspect” of a container port very seriously and is preparing an appropriate review. Will Mecklenburg-Vorpommern be involved? A spokesperson for the ministry did not answer this question.
tkwl / PAP
Source: wPolityce