Athens says no more talk of selling Piraeus port
Greece’s government on Wednesday said it was sticking to plans to halt the sale of its two biggest ports, Piraeus and Thessaloniki, rebuffing reports it was having second thoughts.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s new leftist government has sought to cancel key terms of Athens’s bailout program from international lenders, including what it calls the “crime” of selling off strategic national assets.
“We are not discussing any further sale or privatization of Piraeus Port or Thessaloniki port,” government spokesman Gavriil Sakellaridis told Greek television.
China’s Cosco manages two of Piraeus port’s cargo piers and had been short-listed along with another four suitors as potential buyers of a 67 percent stake in the port under last year’s privatization scheme.
Athens says it is not against the concession granted to Cosco but only opposes the port’s sale.
[Reuters]
