Port of Piraeus Privatisation Delayed
By Aiswarya Lakshmi
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
The Greek government plans to delay the privatization process for its largest Port, Piraeus, by a few weeks due to delays caused by the September 20 election to the works of the ministries involved in the procedure, reports Reuters.
The successful investor was previously expected to be announced by the end of September or in early October.
“We will fall behind by about 20 days because the concession agreement that the shipping and finance ministries have to sign is causing a short delay,” an official said.
The privatisation of the port was a requirement of the third bailout agreed with the country's creditors.
China's Cosco Group, Dutch container terminal operator APM Terminals and Philippines-based International Container Terminal Services have until Oct. 30 to submit binding bids for a 51 percent stake in the port operator OLP.
The shipping ministry still needs to review the draft agreement before it is presented to investors, another official said, adding that the re-elected minister had received the relevant material only “very recently”.
The tender includes an option for the successful applicant to increase its share in the Port Authority to 67% in five years if the party invests 300m Euros.