European funds for the port of Piraeus
The European Investment Bank (EIB) will advance EUR 140 million on loan to the port of Piraeus to support the expansion and upgrading of Greece’s principal port. The largest ever loan for port investment in the country, which will run on a 20 year-basis, brings the total investment plan of the port to more than EUR 600 million.
The signees were the Chinese president Xi Jinping and Xu Lirong, chairman of Cosco Shipping, Andrew McDowell, EIB vice president, and Yu Zenggang as well as Athanasios Liagkos, the chairman and a board member of the Piraeus port authority.
McDowell justified the loan by saying that it "reflects the economic benefits to be unlocked in the coming years and the importance of ensuring competitive transport links for Greece and South Eastern Europe.”
The EIB loan is guaranteed by the Export–Import Bank of China, and the guarantee facility contract between PPA and CEXIM was signed at the same occasion. The port of Piraeus is currently the world’s 32nd largest port in terms of container cargo traffic. (fd)