Newsfront – Greek Shipping Intelligence
Containers moving through Cosco Pacific’s Piraeus terminals II and III reached an all-time high in the first half of the year, recording an impressive 26.7% increase compared with the same period of 2013, the firm announced July 15.
In the January / June period Cosco’s concession holder, SEP SA, said 1.47m containers were handled to end-June, against 1.16m a year earlier. Cosco-operated terminals II and III saw an even bigger increase in June when movements in the month were 29.8% ahead of 12 months earlier. The data confirms the accelerating growth rate of container handling at the country’s main port, which, when added to the Piraeus Port Authority’s (PPA) terminal I activity, has taken Piraeus to eighth position among Europe’s biggest ports, according to figures by Port Monitor. In the first four months of 2014 Cosco alone lifted 944,600teu up from 748,500teu the same 2013 four month period. In 2013, SEP handled 2.51m teu, a 19.5% rise from 2012. When one adds the 644,000teu handled at terminal I, the total topped 3.15m teu in 2013. This total could be near 3.8m teu this year.
Meanwhile, the Greek government is still waiting for the European Commission to give the greenlight to the sealing of the friendly arrangement between Cosco and the PPA regarding the extension of the western section of Piraeus’ container terminal III. The EC’s okay to the agreement will boost government efforts to privatise the PPA. Cosco operates terminals II and III under its 35-year concession agreement with the PPA, and sees extension of terminal III as vital to its plan to develop Piraeus into China’s European container hub.
The concession was agreed in 2009 and became operable in 2010. Approval by EC competition authorities of Cosco’s €250m ($343m) investment projects in its concession piers would pave the way for the submission of a binding bid for the majority 67% stake in PPA. The Chinese side has set the deal’s approval as a condition for its participation in the tender. The PPA is listed on the Athens Stock Exchange and the Chinese terminal operator has long been seen as a frontrunner in the bidding, though the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (TAIPED), the agency responsible for the country’s privatisation programme, has said industry terminal specialists APM Terminals, ICTS, Ports America Group Holdings and Peter Yu-led Cartesian Capital Group have also expressed an interest.
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