DP World and APM Terminals interested in Cyprus’s Limassol Port
London: Dubai’s DP World and Netherlands-based APM Terminals have both shown interest in operating container terminals at Limassol Port, Cyprus.
Cyprus’s government hopes privatisation of the port, which will either consist of a licensing agreement or concessions, will raise €1.4bn in four years.
Communications and works minister Marios Demetriades, who is responsible for transport and maritime business in the country, told the Cyprus News Agency that plans for privatising commercial services at Limassol Port will be underway by the end of April.
Port rates will also be reviewed to match world prices, and labour rights will be respected, he added.
“I believe the investors will be selected by the end of the year and the process will be completed by the first quarter of 2016,” Demetriades told the news agency.
The ministry and its advisors are examining the legal framework for the privatisation, Demetriades said. The options under consideration are either a license contract or a 25-year concession agreement.
The Cyprus Port Authority will remain a public organisation with a supervisory role.
Container throughput at Limassol port increased by 11% in 2014 to 307,600 teu, despite several strikes by port workers.