Piraeus port considered ‘the head of the dragon’

Piraeus port considered ‘the head of the dragon’
12.10.2018 http://www.ekathimerini.com/233575/article/ekathimerini/business/piraeus...

Piraeus seems like it’s on its way to becoming the number one port in the Mediterranean and Europe, according to a Bloomberg report, while playing a key role in China’s One Belt One Road initiative.

It adds that Cosco, which controls Piraeus Port Authority (OLP), is one of the biggest port utilization companies and is spearheading this Chinese initiative.

The report says that China considers Piraeus to be “the head of the dragon” and a strategically significant transit junction.

Cosco, which is a Chinese state company, has already invested millions in Piraeus since undertaking the operation of Terminal II in 2009, strengthening Piraeus’s position in the new order that Beijing is promoting.

Bloomberg comments that this investment has proven a great hit, describing the Chinese company’s timing as perfect.

Piraeus has become the third largest port in the Mediterranean and the seventh largest in Europe, according to official data for 2017, posting 200 percent growth compared to a decade earlier, the report highlighted.