Greek authorities are willing to sell off a greater chunk of the nation’s second largest port than originally planned. The privatisation of Thessaloniki Port Authority originally called for the sale of a 51% stake in the port, with another 16% to be sold at a later date. Now the tender sent out to interested parties shows that 67% of the port is up for sale.
The tender also stipulates that the winning party must invest EUR180m ($188m) in the port over a seven-year period. The likely winner of the tender will be announced next month. Among those thought to have lodged bids for the port are ICTSI from the Philippines and DP World from the UAE.
The privatisation of Thessaloniki follows shortly after Chinese maritime conglomerate China Cosco Shipping took control of Greece’s top port, Piraeus. The controversial privatisation of the top two ports, part of the government’s bid to balance its books, has sparked many strikes among dockworkers.
