Senior executives of COSCO Shipping expressed their strong interest in further strengthening the position and role of Piraeus – the largest port in Greece and one of the largest European ports – in the chain of maritime trade between Europe and Asia.
This interest was expressed in the context of a recent meeting that the group’s senior executives had with a journalistic mission from Greece, at the group’s headquarters in Shanghai.
COSCO sees Piraeus as a modern, pivotal, international hub, in which the Chinese group has systematically invested in recent years, and will persist in this direction, considering that there are still opportunities for further development, which it will exploit to the maximum extent possible.
As COSCO has previously declared interest in expanding its investment in Greece to the wider Thriasio Plain area, with the aim of organizing a modern product assembly center, as well as an international logistics center, “N” asked whether this interest remains alive.
The representatives of the Chinese group stated that they are not authorized by the administration to comment on COSCO’s future investment plans while they gave the same reply on whether the Chinese group maintains its interest in investing in the Greek railway. These are statements that do not exclude the possibility that the Chinese group may be interested in investing in the transport and logistics sector in the future.
However, COSCO Shipping executives were more clear about the possibility of a new investment cycle in another port in the country, noting that there is no such interest, as COSCO’s main interest is focused on the port of Piraeus and how through it the group will secure the greatest possible surplus value, constantly upgrading its role in the international transport of products from Asia to Europe and vice versa.
The port of Piraeus, which is 67% owned by COSCO, is the largest port in the Mediterranean in terms of container traffic, while it is also consistently in the top five ports in Europe.
In Piraeus, Piers II and III have been managed since 2009 by Container Terminal S.A. (PCT), a subsidiary of COSCO, while in 2016, after an international tender, the majority of the shares of Piraeus Port came under the control of the Chinese group.
It is estimated that the Chinese shipping giant has invested around 1.8 billion euros in the port of Piraeus since 2009.
Expansion of the Piraeus Port
One of the key issues that the Chinese have repeatedly raised with the Greek governments is the expansion of the Piraeus Port Container Terminal, with the construction of a fourth pier, so that the country’s major port can handle more than 10 million TEUs annually. The investment cost is estimated at 350 million euros, according to information from “N”.
The Piraeus Port is currently constructing the new Piraeus cruise base, which will enable the port to accommodate the latest mega cruise ships.
During the meeting of the press mission from Greece at the headquarters of COSCO, the Chinese group was represented by Zhao Xiaofeng, Vice General Manager of Corporate Management Division of COSCO Shipping Ports, Fan Ke, deputy General Manager of Media Centre of Cosco Shipping, Cao Junjie, Supervisor of Foreign Business Department of Strategy and Corporate Management Division of COSCO Shipping, Han Wei, Manager of Cultural Affairs and Communication Department Corporate Culture Division of COSCO Shipping Ports, Huang Qicui, Supervisor of Brand Management and Media Relation Department of Public Relation Division of COSCO Shipping, Xu Yining, Supervisor of International Communication Department of Media Centre of COSCO Shipping, Zhu Qihan, Supervisor of Brand Management and Media Relation Department of Public Relation Division of COSCO Shipping, and Yuan Yang, Ship Supervisor of Domestic Company Affairs Department of Corporate Management Division of COSCO Shipping Ports.
