What the Americans see in the port of Alexandroupolis

The executives of one of the claimants of the majority stake in the Port Authority of the city, which is being sold through an ongoing HRDH tender, see significant growth prospects in the port of Alexandroupolis.

“Today the port of Alexandroupolis works at 25% of its capacity and if we think that with the appropriate investments this capacity can be quadrupled, then it is understood that not even 5% is utilized”, declares to Capital.gr Ed McKechnie head of Proxenos International which, together with the American Quintana Infrastructure Development, participate in the HRDH tender for the sale of the majority stake in the Alexandroupolis Port Authority.

In view of the submission of binding offers, which is expected in early May, a group of consortium visited Alexandroupolis and had meetings with city officials. “We have seen up close how important the port is to the local community and we have confirmed our intention if we are the bidders to include all local actors in our investment,” said Mr McKechnie.

According to him, Alexandroupolis has all the prospects to be an important regional point of transport of goods from East to West and vice versa. The location helps, as well as the railway and road connections that it will have.

It is noted that shortly before the change of the year, the contract for the construction of the Eastern Ring Road of Alexandroupolis was signed, which is essentially the road connection of the Egnatia Highway with the port of Alexandroupolis. The project, which is expected to be completed within two years, has a budget of 36 million euros including VAT.

The port has a railway connection, while the tender process for the upgrade of the Alexandroupoli – Ormenio section has started. This project is included in the project package of 3.3 billion euros promoted by ERGOSE through the Competitive Dialogue process and is necessary for the implementation of the design for the railway connection with the ports of Bulgaria and the so-called Bosphorus bypass.

A balanced strategy

Alexandroupolis is of particular importance as an energy hub in SE Europe. However, according to Ed McKechnie, the goal is to follow a balanced strategy, depending of course on the requirements of customers. “We expect that the loads to and from Central Europe will increase in the next period and Alexandroupolis with the appropriate investments can claim a part of this market”, he notes.

However, in addition to attracting cargo, the business plan of the Proxenos ID consortium also includes the utilization of ALL assets. “We are essentially talking not just about a port but about a business center, and we want to create a benchmark for the wider region of Northeastern Greece,” McKehnie said.

Another factor that attracts the interest of the Americans is the utilization of part of the southern pier of OLA that is currently used by the US Armed Forces in the framework of the defense cooperation agreement with Greece.

“The growing use of the port by the US and NATO military is a factor to be taken into account. The port should be properly equipped to serve current and especially future trade,” said the Proxenos president. .

In any case, the battle for the privatization of OLA is expected to be fierce, as many strong domestic and international players are participating in the ongoing competition from the HRDH.

Apart from Proxenos-Quintana, the joint venture of the Kopelouzos group (Cameron) with the Goldair group and the French Bollore group, the joint venture of GEK TERNA with the American Black Summit Financial Group, Euroports and EFA Group and the Organization have passed to the second phase. Port of Thessaloniki (ΟΛΘ).