Cosco

SREMSKA MITROVICA - Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic expressed the belief on Friday that the announcement issued by the Greek government concerning the renouncement of privatisation for the port of Piraeus will not impact the realisation of the project of modernisation of the Belgrade-Budapest railway.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras's New Democracy party responded on Tuesday to statements made by a candidate for the main opposition SYRIZA party, suggesting a renegotiation of several privatization projects and in particular of the cargo terminal at the country's main port in Piraeus.

By Nikos Roussanoglou

A total of 2.987 million containers were handled last year by Piraeus Container Terminal, Chinese company Cosco?s local subsidiary, at the second and third container terminals of Greece?s largest port, according to figures released yesterday at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, where Cosco Pacific is listed.

China signed a huge deal on Wednesday to finance a high-speed bullet train between Budapest and Belgrade, a key link in Beijing’s expanding network for getting its goods to European markets.

“This will put in place a corridor between China and Europe,” Chinese Premier Li Keqiang told reporters after signing the deal in Belgrade, estimated by local media to be worth 1.5 billion euros.

By Vangelis Mandravelis

Every week three or four Trainose trains, each consisting of 38 carriages, depart from Piraeus carrying as many containers of Sony merchandize destined for Slovakia, where the Japanese elctronics giant assembles TV sets to cover the needs of its European market.

By Ilias Bellos

The heads of state and government of 16 Central and Eastern European countries as well as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang are on their way to Belgrade for the summit meeting that takes place on Tuesday and Wednesday concerning the expansion of the region’s economic, commercial and investment cooperation with China.

By Ilias Bellos

After a stormy session, the general meeting of Piraeus Port Authority (OLP) on Tuesday approved an agreement with Cosco that paves the way for a Chinese investment of 230 million euros in the country’s biggest port.

OLP head Giorgos Anomeritis (pictured right) threatened to resign when OLP unionists tried to block his entry to the conference hall.

A record number of containers were processed in July at Terminal 1, which is run by the Piraeus Port Authority (OLP), it emerged on Monday.

Employees at the Piraeus container terminal resumed work on Saturday morning after going on strike a day earlier to protest working conditions, representatives of Cosco, the Chinese company that manages the port, told the media.

According to Cosco, the stevedores returned to work after management agreed to meet some of their demands and to discuss the rest.

A rare strike has been called at the container terminal at the main port of Piraeus run by Chinese shipping giant Cosco, a union official said.

“A strike has been called until Monday by around 150 dock workers,” Giorgos Georgakopoulos, head of the federation of Greek port employees (OMYLE), told AFP.