Huawei affirms interest in Piraeus
Chinese communications giant Huawei Technology is mulling setting up a logistics hub at the port of Piraeus as well as a research and development center in cooperation with Greek universities.
Company officials visited Deputy Development Minister Notis Mitarakis on Thursday afternoon and affirmed the contents of the memorandum of cooperation signed by the Chinese group and the Greek government during Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’s visit to China in May. Although there is no specific timetable yet, sources say that the company will make a final announcement in early 2014.
Regarding its plans for a logistics hub, Huawei has examined the possibility of setting one up at a number of ports, including those of Thessaloniki and Patra, but is now closer to picking Piraeus as the country’s biggest port already has the necessary infrastructure, such as the Cosco container terminal and the railway network for transport.
The company is also in talks with various Greek universities, including Patra, for a new research and development center.
Huawei expects to spend some 500 million euros on the acquisition of products and services from the local economy during its first five years of operation in Greece.
The Chinese company is the world’s No 1 in the production of telecommunications material, and in 2012 it enjoyed sales of $35.4 billion. Huawei has two transit centers in Europe – in Hungary and the Netherlands – and five research and development centers.
