Maritime

COSCO CONQUEST PIRAEUS

Piraeus Port Authority temporarily assigns two container docks to the Chinese company. Still in the running Thessaloniki.

After a long courtship, the owners Chinese Cosco now seem close to marriage to the port of Piraeus. Yesterday, the Piraeus Port Authority (PPA) has been awarded the management of docks Two and Three at Asian company, although still in provisional form. In race there was another Chinese company, Hutchison Port Holdings of Hong Kong (which had offered 4.06 billion). Cosco has been awarded the contract with a bid of 4.3 billion euros, which will add 620 million to restructure the terminal. The concession will last 35 years and will become final when Cosco will submit all documentation required by the port. The start of operations is scheduled for early 2009.

Thessaloniki - Greece remains open tender for the port of Thessaloniki. The Port Authority has not provided information on bids received, because the committee is still examining the documentation. Participants in the race are Cosco, Hutchison (together with pharmaceutical group Alapis), DP World (with Piraeus Bank). An announcement could come in the coming days.