Piraeus port regulator to suppress OLP
The draft law for the creation of the Piraeus Port Public Authority (DALP), currently being drawn up by Merchant Marine Minister Theodoros Dritsas, is seen by the market as a covert way of renationalizing Piraeus Port Authority (OLP), whose sale to Cosco has been approved by sell-off fund TAIPED.
The first draft of the bill, which Kathimerini has seen, contains two provisions that create more questions than they answer. Firstly, it defines DALP’s field of competence as “the formation of proposals and their submission for approval by the Merchant Marine Minister concerning the development and modernization of the port of Piraeus.” This generates a fuzzy picture regarding the status of the various authorities in the country’s biggest port.
Secondly, the draft law defines the public authority’s revenues “a 1 percent share of the gross revenues of all enterprises providing services within the Piraeus Port zone.” This would mean OLP paying 1 percent of its takings to DALP on top of the 3.5 percent levy on its turnover it must pay every year.
That also leads to questions over whether this 1 percent charge would also concern coastal shipping, cruise ships, container and new vehicle companies, as well as over the consequences on the port’s international competitiveness.
