The once-sleepy Greek port of Piraeus has gained a revival and revitalization since its acquisition by a Chinese shipping company a decade ago.
Piraeus Port is the second biggest port in the Mediterranean Sea and the largest port in Greece. It is regarded by many as the gateway to Europe on the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.
China COSCO Shipping gained a 35-year lease for two container terminals at the port in 2008, then acquired a 67 percent stake in the Piraeus Port Authority eight years later.
During the 10 years of cooperation between the Chinese and Greek sides, Piraeus Port has developed from an once-sleepy port to one of the most fast-growing container ports in the world.
The port provides combined rail-sea transport service, which can reduce shipping time to central and eastern European countries by 10 days compared with the shipping services provided by ports in the northeast.
Since the service’s full launch in 2017, the port has been chosen as the transshipment hub for 55 shipping routes, greatly boosting its cargo handling business.
"We handled 880,000 TEUs in 2010, and 4.15 million TEUs last year. When we came here in 2010, Piraeus Port ranked the 93rd among its peers in the world. Last year, its global ranking rose to the 36th, we believe there is still room for a further rise in its ranking," said Zhang Anming, directing manager of Piraeus Container Terminal S.A.
The joint operation of the port has become a model of win-win cooperation within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative. However, this achievement had experienced some twists and turns.
"They (the Greek side) showed no confidence in us at the beginning with many doubts, such as how we would treat the workers, whether we would bring in workers from China, whether we would violate their labor law, and what kind of prospects were lying ahead of this company," said Zhang.
Those doubts were eventually dispelled by the concrete actions taken by the Chinese side. The Piraeus Port Authority’s newly formed executive panel hired 1,000 local employees within half a year, training them in both Greece and China in droves.
"We sent them to Chinese ports such as Qingdao Port and Shanghai Port to receive crane operation training, and brought skilled technicians from China back to Greece to assist the training of local employees," said Fu Chengqiu, CEO of Piraeus Container Terminal S.A.
The Chinese experience, standards and technologies soon converted into production capacity at the Piraeus Port, benefiting local communities by creating a great amount of jobs.
"We have hired some 1,600 employees, substantially adding over 2,000 jobs to the Greek labor market. This is a model of common development and win-win cooperation," said Zhang.
Last year, the port made a total profit of over 300 million euro, becoming one of the highlights in Greece’s 2017 economic performance.
Sources:cctvplus
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