A briefing was held on Tuesday at the relevant shipping ministry on the course of 10 state-owned port authorities transferred to the privatization fund’s (HRADF) portfolio, with the first highlight reportedly pointing to the fact that all 10 organizations reported profits in 2017.
The briefing was held in the presence of the ministry’s leadership, with a presentation by Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF) president Aris Xenofos and other top fund executives.
HRADF is the sole shareholder in the 10 port authorities – Volos, Rafina, Igoumenitsa, Patras, Alexandroupolis, Irakleio (Crete), Elefsina, Lavrio, Corfu and Kavala – and has spearheaded efforts over the past four years to rationalize spending and improve revenues for the entities. The fund itself is a memorandum-mandated obligation that the Greek state established to meet bailout terms.
Another point presented to the ministry’s leadership, which including Minister Panagiotis Kouroumblis, was the fact that the 10 port authorities are not burdened with borrowing and loan obligations and receive no subsidization from the state budget.
HRADF executives also pointed to the fact that the 10 port authorities have developed five-year business plans and operate with budgets that are monitored on a monthly basis.
In terms of future development, the idea of joint actions to create cruise ship clustering was discussed, as well as joint programs to receive EU funds.
Of particular interest over the coming period is what effect the 2016 privatization of the port of Piraeus will have on other small ports in the wider Athens area, such as Lavrio, Elefsina and Rafina.
Chinese multinational Cosco assumed the management of Greece’s biggest and busiest port in August 2016 after winning an international tender and purchasing a majority stake in the Piraeus Port Authority (OLP). Since then, the port of Piraeus has dramatically increased turnover and all related indices.
A further distribution of Piraeus’ activities to smaller ports in its wider vicinity is expected to attract investors’ interest.
In a statement after the briefing, Kouroumblis reiterated that the future commercial exploitation of the specific port authorities will be achieved via the awarding of concessions for specific port activities.
