A bill allowing private investors concession contracts at 10 Greek ports was submitted by the Greek Shipping Ministry and approved by the Parliament on Thursday. The bill concerns the ports of Alexandroupolis, Volos, Rafina, Igoumenitsa, Patra, Heraklion, Elefsina, Lavrio, Corfu and Kavala and establishes a new model for exploiting their activities and infrastructure, through sub-concessions to contract out different port activities and use of PPPs, state news agency amna reports.
The bill allows the use of sub-concession contracts and public-private sector partnerships.
According to Shipping and Island Policy Minister Fotis Kouvelis, the new laws will allow port authorities to attract private investors and develop investment activity.
Replying to opposition criticism of the sub-concession model, Kouvelis said that this was used in more than 80 pct of Europe. All the opposition parties voted against the bill, apart from the Centrists’ Union which abstained, voting ‘present’.
The minister noted that the Greek state had not handed over ownership of the ports and that the law prevented the concession of an entire port to a single investor, though it did not prevent cooperation between ports.
As an example, Kouvelis said, if it is judged that the port of Kavala in a specific activity needs to cooperate with the port of Volos, there is nothing to prevent an investor for participating in the specific tendering process and thus secure the cooperative operation of activities at the two ports.
PS In my village we call this “privatization” of state assets, while mean Greeks call it “sale-off of the country.”
Nope. the lovely port of Antiparos as in the thumbnail picture is not to be privatized. The island is too small, and of no interest for commercial trade and therefore for investors.
