The dry ports of the Thessaloniki Port Authority (ThPA S.A.) are put into operation again in the Balkans, as it emerged from the regular annual general meeting of the company’s shareholders.
The CEO of the company, Arie Koppelaar, announced in response to a question from “Naftemporiki”, that the railway connection between ThPA S.A and the dry port in Sofia will resume in the next eight weeks, while the corresponding railway routes have recently resumed to and from Nis (Serbia) and Skopje.
It is also worth noting that the war crisis in the Gaza Strip and the current situation in the Red Sea not only do not have a negative impact on the work of the OLTH, but – according to Koppelaar and the executive chairman of the Board of Directors of the company, Athanasios Liagkos, instead of a decrease, it records an increase in traffic in 2024.
Regarding the large investment in the 6th pier, Liagos estimated that the start of work is expected after September-October when the presidential decree will be published.
Although the management of ThPA S.A. refrained from referring to the exact budget of the investment in the 6th pier under the new conditions of the new tender, Liagos estimated that it will be much higher than the amount of 130 million euros provided for in the original concession contract.
Regarding the financing of the project, various scenarios are being considered, with the most likely being the combination of own funds with bank loans, given that ThPA S.A. is a company with zero debt.
From the moment the presidential decree is published, it is estimated that the implementation time of the investment will be 36 months.
