New deadline for Piraeus Port bids confirmed
Greece has pushed back the date to submit binding bids for a majority stake in its biggest port, Piraeus (OLP), to December 3, the head of its privatization agency said on Friday.
Setting a date for binding bids for Piraeus and Thessaloniki ports is one of the actions Greece needs to take to unlock more bailout funds.
China’s Cosco Group, Danish container terminal operator APM Terminals and Philippines-based International Container Terminal Services were expected to submit bids for a 51 percent stake in OLP by October 30, but an early September 20 election held up work and the deadline has been pushed back.
“We had some delays with the concession agreements so we moved the date to December 3,” Stergios Pitsiorlas, the head of Greece’s privatization agency TAIPED, told Reuters.
“Investors have been notified.”
The sale of Greek ports, airports and railways are among the government’s priorities, officials have said, but its plans are likely to be faced with resistance from labor unions.
Port workers walked off the job on Thursday to protest the OLP sale.
The submission of binding bids for Greek railways (Trainose) and its rolling stock operator (ROSCO) will also be postponed to mid-January from December, Pitsiorlas said.
[Reuters]
