Chinese shipping giant China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO) has acquired a majority stake in Spain's largest maritime terminal operator, Noatum Ports.
The operator manages a pair of maritime terminals in the cities of Valencia and Bilbao, as well as dry terminals in Zaragoza and Madrid.
Valencia lies on Spain's east coast. The Port of Valencia is one of the busiest seaports in Europe. It's also the largest in Spain, and in the Mediterranean Sea Basin.
Currently, nearly half of the traffic in the Valencia port is shipped from or to the far east with China being the main commercial partner.
Last year, Chinese company COSCO Shipping acquired a controlling stake in Noatum Ports, the company operating the Container Terminal of the Port of Valencia.
Noatum Ports CEO Sun Kai said the port's strategic geographical position, operational capacity, and modern operation systems mean it can perfectly integrate into the main transportation hub for the region.
"Valencia Port was ranked No.1 in Mediterranean area, and No.5 in Europe and No.29 in the world. In terms of its throughput of 4.83 million in 2017 last year. Valencia is an ideal maritime gateway for Iberian Peninsula, and it's connected to the central Spain, makes it a natural port for I think the Greater Madrid Area," said Sun Kai.
COSCO Shipping also operates the Port of Bilbao, an entry-point into Europe for ships coming across the North Atlantic.
The general manager of the Noatum Container Terminal Bilbao says the port is constantly developing, and China is among its twelve main markets. She also mentioned how the one belt, one road initiative could lead to further opportunities for the port of Bilbao.
"Connecting China with Bilbao is a big opportunity for us. I think one belt one road is one big country in its whole project. I think China is opening to Europe. It's opening the culture. It is opening the way of connecting the business. And I think they are in the good trend so we must be at their side," said Elvira Gallego, the general manager.
Both port authorities in Valencia and Bilbao also hailed China's role in promoting their local economies.
"Now with this initiative, I think it is a good opportunity for Chinese companies to invest for instance in Spain and produce in Spain with their Chinese technology, products with the seal of the European Union. And then it's an opportunity to open new markets in South America, in Africa, and even in the European market," said Francesc Sanchez, the General Manager of Port Authority of Valencia.
Ricardo Barkala, the president of Port Authority of Bilbao said the development of the port of Bilbao has made it better connected to the United Kingdom as well as the Europe.
"It's very important for Spain, because Spain need to move the traffic to the Mediterranean corridor, and later throughout the right way, and throughout the port of Bilbao continue to the United Kingdom and the rest of the Europe," said Barkala.
Many locals believe continued investment from Chinese companies can create more jobs and business opportunities in the future.
Sources:cctvplus
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