GREEK NEWS AGENDA: HP,Cosco & Trainose : A Promising Deal

Thursday, November 15, 2012

HP,Cosco & Trainose : A Promising Deal

A provisional agreement between American IT firm Hewlett-Packard (HP), Chinese Cosco and Greek Railways Trainose was announced yesterday, involving the use of Cosco's cargo terminal at the port of Piraeus as a transport hub for HP products in Central Europe, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean.

The merchandise will be distributed by sea through the terminal of Piraeus and by land via the adjacent Trainose railway line. The new deal coincides with the completion of the Neo Ikonio railway track which links the port of Piraeus with the trans-European railway network.

HP’s logistics and transport business totals US$ 50 billion, of which the largest part relates to activities in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East; until now HP had a contract with the port of Rotterdam. According to initial estimates by the Ministry of Development, this new contract deal -expected to come into effect by the end of 2012- could increase local cargo business at Piraeus by 50%, creating hundreds of jobs and boosting economic growth.

The agreement was presented to Prime Minister Antonis Samaras by HP’s senior vice-president, Tony Prophet, and Cosco’s subsidiary (PCT) chief executive, Capt. Fu Cheng Qiu. The Greek premier referred to the agreement as a "vote of confidence" for Greece in its effort for economic recovery, noting that it will help the country establish its global presence.

Ministry of Development: Press Release (in Greek); Greek News Agenda: Piraeus Turns into a Major Cargo Shipping Hub & Transport: The EU connection; Kathimerini: Hewlett-Packard picks Piraeus as transit centre

Piraeus Port: A success Story for Cosco

The container handling rate at Pier II of the port of Piraeus has soared this year, with the Piraeus Container Terminal (PCT), a subsidiary of Cosco Pacific, handling more than 1.6 million containers in the 3 first quarters of 2012, according to a report published in Kathimerini daily. This was considerably higher than the target of 1.4 million containers and about 96% more than the items handled in the same period last year. PCT officials estimate that by the end of December 2012, some 2.1 million teu will have passed through Pier II.

Via its parent company Cosco Pacific, PCT has planned significant investments for further modernisation of Pier II, as well as expedient completion of construction work for Pier III – expected to become fully operational by 2015 - so that when both docks start operating simultaneously, the number of handled containers reaches the set target of 3.7 million teu per year.

Meanwhile, Piraeus Port Authority has announced that its total revenues are expected to show an increase of 8.2% (approximately € 122 million) in 2013, despite economic recession in Greece and the ongoing crisis in the shipping sector worldwide.