EMEA News
Port of Piraeus Sale Delayed
The sale of the Greek Government's controlling share of the country's Port of Piraeus will be delayed by "a few weeks" as a result of the September 20 election placing a hold on required ministry work, Reuters reports.
"We will fall behind by about 20 days because the concession agreement that the shipping and finance ministries have to sign is causing a short delay," a government official is reported to have said.
The government is said to be required to set a date for binding bid submissions for Piraeus port as part of the country's first bailout review and effort to qualify for additional money from its €86 billion ($96.72 billion) bailout.
COSCO Group, APM Terminals, and International Container Terminal Services Inc. are said to have been given until October 30 to submit binding bids for the 51 percent stake in the Piraeus Port Authority S.A. (OLP), a deal which would also include the option to acquire another 16 percent stake in OLP over five years after required investments.
Reports indicate that further hold ups in a sale could come from disagreements between local authorities over the agreement terms, or from port workers who are said to have threatened to block a deal by way of strikes, protests, and legal action.
In July, Ship & Bunker reported that A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S was preparing to buy Greece's two largest ports after it was announced that the debt-riddled country was renewing a push to sell its majority stakes as part of bailout negotiations.
