Piraeus to handle 10 million teu?
The Greek committee of planning and development of ports (ESAL) has approved the Port of Piraeus Authority's (PPA) master plan of investments amounting to EUR 612 million (USD 673 million). The Greek shipping minister Yannis Plakiotakis welcomed the decision as the "opening of a new chapter in the excellent Sino-Greek relations" during a meeting with the chairman of PPA S.A. Yu Zenggang.
China's Cosco Shipping acquired a majority stake of 67% shares of the PPA in 2016 after an international tender. The Chinese company's subsidiary Piraeus Container Terminal (PCT) has also managed the port's container terminals since 2009. Container handling at the port of Piraeus in 2018 amounted to some 4.4 million teu in the part of the port controlled by Cosco Shipping Ports.
Originally, the Greek authorities only approved part of the master investment plan. The resubmitted plan now includes the construction of a 2.8 million teu terminal. The aim is to expand the port’s capacity to over 10 million teu, comparable to the ports of the Northern range in Europe. (fd)