EUROPE

Greek port concessioning imminent

8 years ago

The concession process for the Greek ports of Alexandroupoli, Kavala, Igoumentsa and Corfu could start before the end of the year, according to the chairman of the countrys Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (TAIPED).

The Government of Greece belatedly kicked off the process for utilising 10 regional ports — including the ones Mr Xenofos talked about Photo: dimitrisvetsikas1969/Pixabay/CC0 Creative Commons

According to I Kathimerini, Mr Xenofos made the comment at an Enterprise Greece meeting with representatives of Russian banks and industries, adding that the concessioning of other regional ports may also begin by the end of 2018 or at the start of 2019, alongside the sale of 50.1% of Hellenic Petroleum shares.

The chairman’s comments came on the same day the Government of Greece belatedly kicked off the process for concessioning 10 regional ports — including the ones Mr Xenofos talked about.

A bill on the ratification of the concession contracts awarding control of ports to port authorities was put up for public consultation, with the bill containing a provision that state sell-off fund TAIPED will be allowed to sign contracts conceding specific port activities to third parties (which the Hellenic Parliament will later ratify).

It was claimed by market experts that the bill seemed overly bureaucratic, involving Greece’s merchant marine ministry in the concession process without making it clear whether it or TAIPED will have the upper hand if a disagreement arises.

Additionally, there is no provision concerning port employees once investors come in.