Companies interested in buying a majority stake in the Port of Piraeus now have until December 3 to submit their binding bids, after Greece recently postponed the deadline initially set for October, Reuters cited Stergios Pitsiorlas, the head of the country’s privatization agency, as saying.
Pitsiorlas said that HRADF pushed back the date for binding bids after experiencing setbacks in the concession agreements due to the early parliamentary elections held on September 20.
Back in August, Greece signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with its international lenders, agreeing to announce the binding bid dates for the ports of Piraeus and Thessaloniki by October.
The MOU is a prerequisite for Greece if it wants to gain access to around EUR 85 billion offered through a new bailout program.
Two months prior to the signing of the MOU, Greece invited China’s Cosco Group, Maersk Group’s APM Terminals, and Philippines-based International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI) to present their bids for a 51% stake in the Piraeus port.
The companies now have until December 3 to present their bids, with an option for the stake to increase up to 67% if the chosen company invests EUR 300 million in the port over a period of five years.
World Maritime News Staff