The memorandum of cooperation, which still needs to receive regulatory approval, was signed last Thursday.
Just the day before, the Piraeus Container Terminal (PCT) run by COSCO had celebrated the opening ceremony of a new pier. The completion of the eastern section of Wharf 3 represented an investment of €340 million euros.
Attending the Wednesday ceremony, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras noted: “Also we are in the midst of negotiations for a new agreement for the west side which, if completed and approved by the competent authorities in Europe, will involve an additional investment of €224 million by COSCO.”
The Greek Prime Minister called for further Chinese investments in his country’s transportation industry. He said that when he visited China in May, investors expressed their interest in other investments in Greece besides the port of Piraeus.
“With my presence here today, I would like to highlight the determination of this government to further develop and strengthen our relations in ports and in other areas with greater involvement from China,” he said. “We started our first collaboration with the port of Piraeus, and we invite you to other successful partnerships in transport, rail, ports, and the ship-repair industry.”
Piraeus Container Terminal is a wholly-owned subsidiary of COSCO Pacific Limited. Under a concession agreement, it manages and operates the container terminal consisting of piers 2 and 3 for 30 years. It has committed to upgrading the annual capacity of existing Pier 2 from 1.6 to 2.6 million TEUs before 2014 and constructing the planned Pier 3 with an annual capacity of 1.1 million TEUs before 2015.
On Thursday, COSCO chairman Captain Wei Jiafu signed a memorandum of cooperation with Greece's new Shipping Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis. Under the agreement, the Piraeus Container Terminal (PCT) will build the western part of Pier 3, which will amount to a total investment of €224 million. Also, it will construct on the same site an oil product facility on behalf of the Piraeus Port Authority, which will be paid off by the Greek state over 15 years.
