WASHINGTON: China Cosco Shipping has claimed the Piraeus port sale submitted to parliament in Athens is not the same as what was originally agreed. China Cosco Shipping had planned to make the largest foreign direct investment in Greece ever by taking over the country’s top port for EUR368.5m, however the move has faced huge opposition from dockworkers to politicians – and even Greece’s own shipping minister.
The terms of the deal were submitted by the country’s shipping ministry to parliament for approval on Tuesday. But, China Cosco Shipping has objected, according to Reuters, saying that key elements of the deal appeared to have been altered. Among parts of the deal erased is an obligation by the state to approve project licensing within a specific timeframe. The shipping ministry has said it is looking at the complaints made by the Chinese conglomerate. Politicians had been expected to endorse the deal today, before prime minister Alexis Tsipras’s state visit to China which starts tomorrow.
