Port of Thessaloniki privatisation finalised

Ratification by Greece’s parliament, the Hellenic Parliament, of the port’s privatisation took place with a sale to a consortium of Russian-Greek, German and French businesses.

The disposal of port operator Thessaloniki Port Authority (OLTH) constitutes a combined share sale and concession arrangement, which was agreed under terms of Greece’s international bailout programme and took three years to complete.

Sixty-seven percent of OLTH has been acquired by Terminal Link, Deutsche Invest Equity Partners and Belterra Investments, with the companies agreeing to spend over €650m on upgrading the port’s facilities over the 34-year concession timeframe.

The agreement gained attention last year after the US Ambassador to Greece, Geoffrey Pyatt, brought up questions about its transparency, while a letter from Russian lender Promsvyazbank guaranteeing the transaction had to be re-issued after The Central Bank of the Russian Federation put the bank into temporary administration.

Greece’s privatisation agency, the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund, is now proceeding with disposing of the country’s Port of Alexandroupolis plus nine other regional ports that are currently fully-owned by the Greek state.