Cyprus announces winning bids for Limassol port operations
Xinhua, February 25, 2016 Adjust font size:
The Cypriot government on Thursday announced the winning bids for commercial operations at the island's primary port of Limassol.
Container terminal operations were awarded to Germany's Eurogate International GmbH, which holds the majority share in a consortium also comprising International Navigation Company and East Med Holdings.
The marine services sector was awarded to a consortium made up of majority holder DP World Limited, a United Arab Emirates company and Cypriot group G.A.P Vasilopoulos Public Limited, in association with P&O Maritime, a subsidiary of DP World Limited.
The consortium of DP World Limited and G.A.P. Vasilopoulos Public Limited was also awarded the Multipurpose Terminal, also known as the general cargo operations.
The privatization of the commercial operations of Limassol port was stipulated in a three-year, 10 billion euros (about 11 billion U.S. dollars) financial assistance program offered to Cyprus by the Eurogroup and the International Monetary Fund in March 2013.
Cypriot Transport Minister Marios Demetriades said the operators were chosen "through a transparent and competitive process" to take up the operations and develop the most important port of Cyprus.
He said that the successful bidders will be given a transitional period of between six and nine months to fully take up the operations of the port. Endit