ATHENS/BEIJING - In the years since China COSCO Shipping Corp Ltd's arrival at Piraeus, the image of Greece's largest port has changed dramatically.

Greek and Chinese workers are continuing to work hard to realize their vision to transform Piraeus into a "shining star" of the industry, says Tassos Vamvakidis, a manager at Piraeus Container Terminal SA, COSCO Shipping's subsidiary at Piraeus.

Chinese investors initially took over the upgrading and management of Pier II and III for a period of 35 years, while last year COSCO Shipping also acquired the majority stake in Piraeus Port Authority, which manages Pier I.

"There is no comparison between now and then," Vamvakidis says. In 2010, container handling at Piraeus totaled 880,000 twenty-foot equivalent units, and in 2016, it reached 3.74 million TEUs.

And the port's function has been further diversifying. More than 200 Chinese tourists boarded the cruise ship Celestyal Olympia at the port late last month to travel to Santorini.

The ship sailed around the Aegean Sea for a week. Piraeus port will see more than 2,000 Chinese tourists board the cruise in May, according to the group's headquarters in Shanghai.

Other facilities such as new docks to build ships and offshore engineering facilities, as well as new parking areas, will help Greece improve its manufacturing capabilities and build Piraeus into a major vehicle transfer terminal for the Mediterranean region.

But Piraeus' route to success has not been a smooth one.

Some reservations were initially expressed in sections of Greek society about the investment, amid concerns that it would do little to alleviate the serious unemployment problem in Greece.

COSCO Shipping says its investment in Piraeus creates jobs and is helping to invigorate the Greek economy, Vamvakidis says.

Xinhua - China Daily

(China Daily European Weekly 05/12/2017 page25)