Delegation of the Association of ASEAN Committee in Athens visits Port of Thessaloniki

included representatives from the Embassies of Indonesia (H.E. Mr. Ferry Adamhar, Ambassador and Chair of ACAT), Philippines (H.E. Mr. Giovanni E. Palec, Ambassador), Viet Nam (H.E. Mr. Le Hong Truong, Ambassador) and Thailand (Mr. Pornsith Pibulnakarintr, Chargé d’ Affaires) and other officials of the Embassies. During the meeting, the Executive Chairman of the BoD of ThPA S.A., Athanasios Liagkos, informed the ACAT delegation about the role of the Port of Thessaloniki as the gateway port for South East and Central Europe, maximizing the benefits of its strategic location in Northern Greece, close to the major Trans-European motorway and railway networks with direct access to the Southeastern European countries. In addition, the Managing Director – Chief Executive Officer of ThPA S.A., Franco Nicola Cupolo, presented the development projects of the Port of Thessaloniki, such as the status of the investment plan, the progress of the infrastructure development projects, focusing on the expansion of Pier 6, the equipment modernization program and the services provided in the Port of Thessaloniki. Finally, all participants agreed to mutually maintain communication in order to promote commercial cooperation between ThPA S.A. – Port of Thessaloniki and ACAT (ASEAN Committee in Athens). PortSEurope Note: Thessaloniki Port Authority (ThPA) was privatised in March 2018, and was operated by South Europe Gateway Thessaloniki (SEGT) Ltd, a consortium, in turn, then owned by Germany’s Deutsche Invest Equity Partners (DIEP) 47%; France’s CMA CGM (Terminal Link) 33% and Savvidis Group (Cyprus-registered Belterra Investments) 20%. Terminal Link is 49% owned by China Merchants Port Holding, which is controlled by the Chinese state. In February 2021, Russian billionaire of Greek origin, born in Georgia, Ivan Savvidis, acquired the 47% stake in the port owned by DIEP. Savidis, “the Russian tsar of Thessaloniki”, according to local media, now controls 67% of Greece’s second largest port. Source: Thessaloniki Port Authority