Shipping Ministry and COSCO sign memorandum on Pier III

China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO) Chairman Captain Wei Jiafu on Thursday promised to encourage fellow Chinese businesses to invest in Greece, while signing a memorandum of cooperation with Greece's new Shipping and Aegean Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis.

The agreement was signed by COSCO Piraeus Container Terminal, Piraeus Port Organisation (OLP) and Greece's privatisations agency Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF) in order to allow the extension of the west side of Pier III at Ikonio, Piraeus.

Capt. Wei noted that a Chinese fund has already expressed interest in the old Athens airport site at Elliniko, pointing to the recent construction of an artificial hotel-island in Dubai as an example, and expressed confidence in the Greek government and Greek enterprise.

He also expressed his satisfaction with the support given to COSCO since 2002 by successive Greek governments and OLP Chairman Giorgos Anomeritis.

Varvitsiotis underlined that the container terminal was a major investment for Greece and Piraeus and described Capt. Wei as a "great friend of Greece" who had been inspired to carry out today's investments in Piraeus port from the start.

"Today the foundations are laid so that we can continue what we saw inaugurated on Wednesday, which began in 2002 with the first discussion until the agreement reached in 2008 and its finalisation in 2009," he said.

Under the agreement signed on Thursday, COSCO PCT will undertake to construct the west part of Pier III and, in the same spot, will construct a new petroleum products station that will be paid off by the Greek state over 15 years. As an offset benefit, a tourist port will be constructed in Perama in collaboration with the Perama municipality.

Source: Athens News Agency