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Piraeus port deal still alive, Greek deputy PM says

Updated: 2015-03-28 08:09
By Chen Mengwei (China Daily)

The process of privatizing Greece's Piraeus port, halted for months, will resume this month or no later than next month, Greek Deputy Prime Minister Yannis Dragasakis told China Daily on Friday, after witnessing the launch of the China-Greece Maritime Cooperation Year with Vice-Premier Ma Kai.

"During this month, or the next one, the bidding offers will be completed," said Dragasakis, the newly elected Greek government's only deputy prime minister, who is in charge of all economic affairs. "The project is going on. It is in its final stage. The whole project is to be completed this year."

He added that he believes the China Ocean Shipping (Group) Co will be able to make a competitive offer in the bidding.

The fledgling Greek government, beset by domestic economic problems, was criticized in January for frustrating foreign investors over the port. It announced that it would halt the sale of a stake in the port to China's shipping conglomerate COSCO Group and four other suitors.

COSCO has a 35-year management lease for Piers II and III at Piraeus port that took effect in 2008.

Dragasakis dismissed the notion that the privatization of the port had been terminated.

"There was a slight delay," he said, mainly because of the change of the board of directors in the public entity that owns all the shares in the port, "but the privatization is going on."

"This government, in general, supports whatever has been achieved, and supports the further enhancement of activities in the development of the Port of Piraeus," Dragasakis said.

He said the Greek government supports China's Belt and Road initiatives promoted by President Xi Jinping.

"I could not hide from you that I have a special interest in the Silk Road project. This road does not only go through Greece, but also to other parts of Europe. We can build new projects along the road," he said.

"So we have the ports, then logistics, then the railway to Serbia and Hungary," he said.

Dragasakis confirmed a recent report by Reuters that the Greek government may run out of money after April 20 if it gets no further international help.

"Any country, even a strong country, can have short-term liquidity problems," he said. "For Greece, we are part of the euro system. The problems of Greece depend very much on the quality of cooperation among all the parts of the euro system. We hope that through this cooperation, Greece is not going to have any problem of this kind."

He said one reason his government wants to change policies is to discuss matters like "how to create money", "how to develop the economy" and "how to have less unemployment" instead of "when to run out of money".

Greece will not leave the eurozone, he said, although some international observers, including billionaire George Soros, have made opposite guesses.

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