Piraeus port facelift seen making it a cruise hub
The Piraeus Port Authority (OLP) recently presented a plan to transform the port into the largest mooring area for cruise ships in the Mediterranean, which will begin with the construction of two new berths that will be able to accommodate up to 11 cruise liners and 20,000 passengers on a daily basis.
The initial phase of the renovation will be bankrolled by OLP and then continued by foreign cruise companies that have already expressed an interest in investing in Greece?s biggest port in the form of a concession.
However, for OLP to have any chance of attracting serious investor interest, the government first has to amend the law lifting cabotage regulations by scrapping the clause requiring cruise companies that want to use the port of Piraeus as their departure point and which do not sail under a European Union flag to sign a contract with the Greek state for the use of the port.
Abolishing the contract or making it optional is expected to make companies more interested not just in using Piraeus as their port of departure but also in investing in its modernization, according to shipping sources.
Also part of OLP?s plans is a radical renovation of the Aghios Nikolaos section of the port in front of the old customs house, which was cluttered by decommissioned ferryboats until they were towed away to be scrapped in early September.
The renovation is set to begin with the construction of a new blockwork quay wall, which is expected to start within October, as well as for a third terminal to serve cruise passengers.
There are also plans for the OLP exhibition center, known as Pagoda, to be transformed into a five-star hotel complex.
It should be noted that OLP has already submitted an investment plan for its expansion project – with an initial budget of 230 million euros – to all the major cruise companies.
As well as constructing new berths and improving services at the port, OLP?s ambitions extend to the construction of an underwater tunnel linking the different parts of the port (budgeted at 90 million euros) in order to facilitate the arrival and departure of passengers by coach, as well as a 60-million-euro monorail network.
OLP?s lofty plans are actually supported by the increase in cruise traffic this year, which rose by 5.1 percent in the first seven months compared to the same period in 2010, while the number of transit passengers was up 72.9 percent to about 140,000 compared to 80,000 in 2010.
The aim, according to OLP officials, is to increase cruise traffic at Piraeus and as a result to boost Greece?s share in the European market.
According to data from the Cruise Lines International Association, the number of cruise passengers in 2011 is expected to reach 16 million, or 1 million more than 2010.
