Greek port authorities approve tenders
Greek officials say the results of their global tenders to find private investors for Piraeus and Thessaloniki container operations should be available in early March.
Merchant Marine Minister George Voulgarakis said bidding results and winners 'should be' known in some 50 days.
The Thessaloniki Port Authority on Tuesday approved the global tender process while the Piraeus Port Authority approved the tender conditions on Friday.
Reports say that up to 10 international parties have already asked for the tender documents for Piraeus.
According to a Lloyd's List report, the winning bid in Thessaloniki would have to invest more than $410 million over a 30-year concession.
The Greek government currently owns more than 70% of both ports.
According to Voulgarakis, the country's new shipping minister, the process does not constitute actual port privatization but rather the transfer of certain container operations to the private sector.
“The aim is to make the two ports competitive hubs that can be transshipment points for the wider region,” said Voulgarakis.
“Port workers' rights are protected,” he added.
The tender process has been opposed by trade unions who say it is privatization. They are currently involved in a 48-hour strike, the latest in a series of stoppages.
The unions have also banned overtime and weekend work.
The strikes came after an announcement by Voulgarakis that a global tender for operators to run Piraeus and Thessaloniki under a 30-year concession would be released in January.
The tenders are for management contracts for two of the three container facilities at Piraeus and for the entire container terminal in Thessaloniki.
According to a Hellenic Shipping News report, parties interested in the privatization include DP World, COSCO Pacific Limited, Maersk (APM Terminals BV.), Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH), and Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd (ZIM).
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| Port workers on another wave of strikes |
The Thessaloniki Port Authority on Tuesday approved the global tender process while the Piraeus Port Authority approved the tender conditions on Friday.
Reports say that up to 10 international parties have already asked for the tender documents for Piraeus.
According to a Lloyd's List report, the winning bid in Thessaloniki would have to invest more than $410 million over a 30-year concession.
The Greek government currently owns more than 70% of both ports.
According to Voulgarakis, the country's new shipping minister, the process does not constitute actual port privatization but rather the transfer of certain container operations to the private sector.
“The aim is to make the two ports competitive hubs that can be transshipment points for the wider region,” said Voulgarakis.
“Port workers' rights are protected,” he added.
The tender process has been opposed by trade unions who say it is privatization. They are currently involved in a 48-hour strike, the latest in a series of stoppages.
The unions have also banned overtime and weekend work.
The strikes came after an announcement by Voulgarakis that a global tender for operators to run Piraeus and Thessaloniki under a 30-year concession would be released in January.
The tenders are for management contracts for two of the three container facilities at Piraeus and for the entire container terminal in Thessaloniki.
According to a Hellenic Shipping News report, parties interested in the privatization include DP World, COSCO Pacific Limited, Maersk (APM Terminals BV.), Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH), and Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd (ZIM).
Cowan Thant Zin | Thu Jan 17 04:10 GMT 2008