Earlier this month, COSCO Pacific received approval from the Greek parliament, entitling the company to a 35-year franchise of the Piraeus Port of Greece.

This is the first time a Chinese enterprise has managed to acquire a port franchise in a foreign country.

Under the agreement, COSCO Pacific has acquired a 30-year franchise on four 10,000-standard-container docks in the PIER Terminal 2, and also a 35-year franchise on two newly-built 10,000-standard-container docks in the PIER Terminal 3.

Capt Wei Jiafu, President of COSCO and the Board Director of China COSCO Holdings, said that COSCO is stepping up its preparations and expecting to officially take over the terminals operation as from October 1.

Tracey Jia