Greek port plans on track

Greek Shipping and Island Policy Minister Ioannis Plakiotakis said that the development and upgrade of Piraeus is going ahead as expected. He noted that Greek ports have continued operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The Chinese investment at Piraeus is a strategic investment, which can help the local economy and society. It is a win-win case… We must move forward based on the plan. We should send the message that we are returning to normalcy and investments are progressing smoothly,” the minister told Xinhua, China’s official press agency.

In October 2019, Greece’s Committee of Planning and Development of Ports (ESAL) approved Piraeus Port Authority (PPA) investments, but this did not include a fourth container terminal put forward by PPA, majority owned by COSCO Shipping since 2016.

Hailing “excellent cooperation between the two sides,” Mr Plakiotakis said: “Our government approved within just three months (last autumn) the investors’ revised master plan which foresees at least 600 million euros (647 million US dollars) worth mandatory investments.”

He stressed: “The construction of a new cruise pier is in progress based on the concession agreement. Works are proceeding with no issues. They should proceed, because it is important to show the image of normalcy during this critical period, when the entire global economy is tested.”

The new cruise pier is one of the mandatory investments in COSCO Shipping’s master plan for PPA.

In addition to the upgrade and expansion of the existing cruise facilities, the Greek government is also focusing on mandatory infrastructure improvements in the ship repair zone, Mr Plakiotakis said.