His board of directors is expected on Thursday TAIPED approve documents on the legalization of bidders for the sale of most of the authorized capital (at least 67%) Port Authority of Igoumenitsaand two weeks later, on 22 September, the deadline for submission of binding financial proposals for port of Alexandroupolis. However, while for Igoumenitsa, by September 18 (10 days after Thursday’s decisions), the picture is expected to become clearer as to which of the three investment schemes that submitted binding proposals will take precedence (or which two schemes will advance to the improved proposal process) , the visibility of Alexandroupolis port privatization may remain low.

And this is because we are talking about a port of critical geopolitical importance, especially at a time when war is unfolding in Europe and its infrastructure is being used to support the defense of allied countries. It is recalled that within the framework of the institutionalized Greek-American defense cooperation (Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement – MDCA), the port of Alexandroupoli is used by the US military to transfer military equipment to Europe, for example, for the ongoing operation of the US Department of Defense, Atlantic Resolve, with which material exchanges are taking place. and personnel stationed in allied countries. Relevant information that is not formally cross-referenced increases the likelihood of a new renewal being granted. The deadline for granting such a new extension is set for 15 September. This competition qualified two investment schemes, either purely American interests or with the participation of American interests, on the one hand Quintana Infrastructure & Development and on the other hand a consortium of Black Summit Financial Group, Euroports, EFA Group and GEK TERNA. as well as the Thessaloniki Port Authority, which informally states that it will not submit a binding offer, and a consortium of Cameron SA, Goldair Cargo AE and Bollore Africa Logistics.

Less complex are the privatization issues of the Igoumenitsa Port Authority. Three schemes submitted binding bids in the tender: Attica Group in a joint venture with Aktor, Grimaldi Euromed’s joint venture with Minoan Lines and Thessaloniki Port Authority. It is calculated in the market that when the financial proposals are printed, that is, before September 18, the two candidates with the highest financial proposals (and as long as the offer of the second is no more than 20% different from the first, in which case the tender will also be confirmed first ) they will be asked to submit new and improved proposals. According to the prevailing assessment, the Thessaloniki Port Authority and the Grimaldi group are the most likely bidders.