By A. Tsiblakis
Chinese multinational Cosco’s investment budget for the Piraeus Port Authority (OLP) totals approximately 600 million euros, a figure repeatedly cited by company executives in the lead-up to the shipping giant’s assumption of a majority stake (67 percent) and OLP’s management.
Judging by statements over the recent period, the state-run and Shanghai-based company’s first priority is to turn Piraeus into a home port for cruise operators, especially ones aimed at a burgeoning mainland Chinese market – and with the entire Mediterranean as the lure.
Cruise ship tourism, essentially all-inclusive holidays at sea where passengers can visit several coastal destinations on one voyage, is a new trend for the Chinese market, and one Cosco apparently hopes to capitalize on in a major way.
The goal is three million cruise ship passengers passing through Piraeus every year, double the figure recorded for 2015. Improvements in infrastructure, such as being able to service the biggest cruise ship vessels in the world, reaches 200 million euros. An initial investment of 120 million euros, in fact, will apparently not come out of Chinese purse strings but will be financed by the EU to the tune of 95 percent.
A second priority is to upgrade the container facilities at Piraeus, with the goal of handling seven million units annually and 10 million units in the long term.
On an even more ambitious note, Cosco has promised to sink 200 million euros in greater Piraeus port area’s ship repair and building sector, a figure doubled by the Chinese side since it won the international tender for OLP.
Finally, Cosco aims to increase capacity at Piraeus’ car terminal to 20,000 vehicles, up from 9,000 today.
