Cosco

The improved bid of 231.92 million euros sufficed for the consortium of Deutsche Invest Equity Partners (DIEP) with the subsidiary of France's CMA CGM (Terminal Link) and the Savvidis Group (Belterra Investments Ltd) to win the tender for a 67 percent stake in Thessaloniki Port Authority (OLTH).

Works outlined in an investment program launched by Cosco for Piraeus Port Authority (OLP) will be taking off after the selection of the independent engineer who will be monitoring the projects according to the concession contract signed with the Greek state.

This Friday is the deadline for bids for a majority package in Thessaloniki Port Authority (OLTH), but it appears that if the offers of the two suitors are too close to one another there may be an extension up to May 10.

The first Celestyal Cruises ship carrying a group of Chinese passengers will set sail from Piraeus on Friday, signaling the opening of this huge market for Greek destinations - a target shared by Athens and Beijing, and also by Piraeus Port and Cosco alike.

To this end, the Greek Foreign Ministry has accelerated visa-issuing procedures at Greek consulates in China.

It's certainly paradoxical that Alexis Tsipras, Greece's leftist prime minister, would celebrate the launch of projects that he has so vehemently fought against in the past as leader of the opposition: the highways, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, the privatization of regional airports, the extension of the Cosco deal for the port of Piraeus.

Managers of Greek ports (including Piraeus's Cosco) and entrepreneurs in the local cruise tourism sector are battling to contain the anticipated drop in cruise traffic this year and to correct the country's course in 2018. This week all eyes will be on the global cruise industry's biggest annual rendezvous, Seatrade Cruise Global 2017, which opens on Monday in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The port of Piraeus has recorded impressive leap in competitiveness, gaining the 8th spit among the top 20 European ports. The port registered a rapid growth over the past 10 years regarding container handling over the past 10 years, according to data released by a study conducted by port economics.eu.

Cosco is activating its plan to create a second logistics center in Piraeus through the Piraeus Port Authority (OLP) it controls, having decided against entering the tender for the Thriasio field in western Attica in 2016.

The government is seeking to pique Cosco's interest in the sale of the Skaramangas and Elefsina shipyards, but the Chinese company appears reluctant to get involved in the overindebted schemes.

Dubai-based carrier Emirates is in advanced negotiations with MedCruise, the Association of Mediterranean Cruise Ports, regarding the creation of an air link to the Mediterranean for cruise passengers coming from Asia.