By A. Tsimplakis
[email protected]
Pending approval of Cosco’s ambitious 600-million-euro “extended” master plan for the Piraeus Port Authority will now be bumped to the next government to arise from Sunday’s general election, as several prominent projects beyond the contractual obligations undertaken by the Chinese multinational ran into central state and local opposition.
A relevant committee for port planning and development, which convened this week, expectedly “kicked the can down the road” in terms of the PPA master plan-plus, which included at least two high-end hotels, an upscale shopping mall, a logistics hub and even a ship-repair zone.
The PPA’s management, in fact, ignored observations and recommendations by members of the relevant committee, which conveyed despite the fact that no modified master plan was submitted. With environmental impact studies still pending for a series of projects within the port premises, most analysts believe that the Cosco-led port authority – the biggest and busiest in Greece – will simply submit a revised plan once a new government arises.
