Chinese investment

The BRI has strengthened its European presence following the Greek Court of Audit’s approval of the sale of another 16% stake in Piraeus Port Authority (PPA) to COSCO Shipping Line.

This will raise COSCO Shipping Line’s stake in PPA from its current 51% to 67%.

“COSCO demanded that the provision in the privatisation agreement allowing it to acquire the extra stake be activated despite not having completed the US$350 million investment program it had undertaken to implement within five years of its purchase of a 51 per cent stake in OLP (the port authority) from the state,” reported Greek newspaper Kathimerini.

The Port of Piraeus remains the focus of the country’s vision to create a gateway to Europe as part of its US$126bn Belt and Road initiative.

In May 2020, Port Strategy reported that in 2019, Piraeus Port’s container terminal handled 5,65m TEU, making Piraeus the top container handling port in the Mediterranean.

In October 2019, Greece’s Committee of Planning and Development of Ports (ESAL) approved PPA’s proposed investments in its development plan with the exception of a fourth container terminal.