Portal partners
Government wants to facilitate the construction of external ports
Author:Mariusz Dasiewicz
The Council of Ministers adopted a draft law that introduces procedural facilitations to improve the construction of external ports (which arise as a result of the landing of maritime areas) as part of the expansion of ports of fundamental importance to the national economy: Szczecin – Świnoujście, Gdynia and Gdańsk.
The port speciality prepared by the Minister of Maritime Affairs and inland waterways includes solutions to accelerate the construction of external ports in the ports of Szczecin – Świnoujście, Gdynia and Gdańsk. The main objective is to facilitate the acquisition of real estate for investments in the construction of external ports. The project also includes provisions specifically governing compensation for expropriated land (in particular, it indicates how compensation for loss of property rights is determined) and compensation for the limitation of property rights.
According to the government, the further development of these ports requires an increase in their handling capacity by building: the Central Port in Gdańsk, the External Port in Gdynia and the deep water container terminal in Świnoujście.
It is important for the entire economy to increase the capacity of Polish ports to tranship. The data provided by the Chancellery of the Prime Minister show that in 2018 the port handling exceeded 100 million tonnes. This is a 1/3 increase compared to 2015. In the port of Gdańsk byCargo increased by 20.7% compared to 2017.
The development of ports also makes it possible to achieve significant budgetary revenues – duties, taxes and excise duties (calculated in customs branches operating in their territory) in 2018 amounted to approximately PLN 40.6 billion (according to the National Tax Administration). For comparison – in 2011, it was about PLN 10 billion, and in 2015 it was PLN 17.1 billion.
According to the draft law adopted by the government, the decision to establish the location of investments in the construction of an external port (location decision) will be issued by the voivode at the request of the investor (the maritime port manager or the director of the maritime office). The governor will have a month to issue this decision.
The localization decision will be the basis for the voivode's decision to expire on a permanent board or board with regard to land on the board of the State Forest Farm State Forests (excluding properties located in national parks, nature reserves or Natura 2000 sites). It will also be easier to obtain other decisions before obtaining a localization decision, e.g. a decision on environmental conditions for the implementation of investments in the construction of an external port.
The project assumes that the final decision to establish the location of the investment in the construction of an external port will be the result of an expropriation decision, expropriation only of the properties that have been identified by the investor, the maritime port manager or the director of the maritime office, in the request to establish the location of the investment in the construction of external ports.
The investor, in this case the managing body of the seaport, shall, by law, acquire, from the date on which the localization decision becomes final, the right to use perpetual expropriated property together with the ownership of the buildings, facilities and premises on which it is located. The Act also guarantees the facilitation of the occupation of floating water, public roads or railway areas for the time of the investment.
The project also defines the voivodes' competence to remove trees and shrubs located on the properties covered by the location decision. The logging and clearing of trees and bushes will be the task of the State Forests, but the costs will be borne by the investor.
Ponadto, jeśli będzie konieczne wydanie zgody wodnoprawnej, to ma ona być wydana przez PGW Wody Polskie w okresie nie dłuższym niż 30 dni. Jeśli chodzi o termin wydania decyzji o środowiskowych uwarunkowaniach dla realizacji inwestycji w zakresie budowy portu zewnętrznego, to właściwy organ będzie miał na to 90 dni.
Nowa ustawa ma obowiązywać po 14 dniach od daty jej ogłoszenia w Dzienniku Ustaw.
Rada Ministrów przyjęła też projekt ustawy o zmianie ustawy o portach i przystaniach morskich oraz niektórych innych ustaw, przedłożony przez ministra gospodarki morskiej i żeglugi śródlądowej.
Projekt ten dostosowuje polskie prawo do unijnego rozporządzenia dotyczącego świadczenia usług portowych oraz wspólnych zasad związanych z przejrzystością finansową portów.
Dzięki nowym przepisom nastąpi poprawa funkcjonowania polskich portów i przystani morskich, co wzmocni ich pozycję na rynku międzynarodowym, a przede wszystkim na Morzu Bałtyckim. Wzmocniona zostanie również pozycja podmiotów zarządzających portami i przystaniami morskimi.
Signature: ER
