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Maritime Policy & Management
The flagship journal of international shipping and port research
Volume 39, 2012 - Issue 1: Concessions
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Original Articles

Concession of the Piraeus container terminal: turbulent times and the quest for competitiveness

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Pages 27-43 | Received 09 Jul 2011, Accepted 12 Jul 2011, Published online: 06 Feb 2012

References and notes

  • Engel , E. M. R. A. , Fisher , RD and Galetovic , A . 2004 . How to auction a bottleneck monopoly when underhand vertical agreements are possible . Journal of Industrial Economics , 52 ( 3 ) : 427 – 455 .
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  • Ferrari , C and Basta , M . 2009 . Port concession fees based on the price-cap regulation: A DEA approach . Maritime Economics and Logistics , 11 ( 1 ) : 121 – 135 .
  • Pallis , AA , Notteboom , T and de Langen , PW . 2008 . Concession agreements and market entry in the Container Terminal Industry . Maritime Economics and Logistics , 10 ( 3 ) : 209 – 228 .
  • European Commission, 2007, Communication on a European Ports Policy. COM(2007)616, final (Brussels: European Commission)
  • Espo-Itmma, 2007, ESPO/ITMMA Survey on the Awarding of Seaport Terminals to Private Operators (Antwerp: ITMMA)
  • Notteboom, T., 2007, Concession agreements as port governance tools. In: Devolution, Port Governance and Performance, edited by M. R. Brooks and K. Cullinane (London: Elsevier), pp. 449–467
  • Theys , C , Notteboom , TE , Pallis , AA and de Langen , PW . 2010 . The economics behind the awarding of terminals in seaports: Towards a research agenda . Research in Transportation Economic , 27 ( 1 ) : 37 – 50 .
  • Chapman , C and Ward , S . 2003 . Project Risk Management: Processes, Techniques and Insights , Chichester , , UK : John Wiley & Sons .
  • Rouboutsos, A. A. and Pallis, A. A., 2010, Risks in port concessions: A contextual analysis and allocation methodology. Paper presented at WCTR 2010, Lisbon, Portugal, July 2010
  • Suffice it to say that up to 1999 pension and medical care payments (amounting to some 20–25% of each port’s operating expenditures) were disbursed by the ports themselves and not by the state’s social security system, and ports were exempt from income and other taxes
  • Psaraftis, H. N., 2007, Institutional models for the Piraeus port authority. Paper presented at the international scientific conference: “Competitiveness and complementarity of transport modes”, Chios, Greece, 2007
  • This did not prevent government advisers from looking into a broad range of scenarios for attracting private capital into the port sector, including the transformation of OLP into a landlord port as early as 1998 (before corporatization), but it was quickly abandoned as premature
  • Chlomoudis, C. I. and Pallis, A. A., 2002, European Port Policy: Towards a Long-term Strategy (Cheltenham: Edward Elgar)
  • The first author of this paper was signatory to this contract
  • European Commission, 2001, Reinforcing Quality Services in Seaports: A Key for European Transport. COM(2001)35, final (Brussels: European Commission)
  • In fact, this contract expired earlier, as will be explained below
  • As late as summer 2011, MSC was negotiating with OLP on a new contract. This created tension with Cosco Pacific, as the transhipment contract between OLP and MSC was stipulated to be handed over to Cosco Pacific as part of its concession with OLP. As the contract between OLP and MSC expires in 2012, a plausible scenario is that no contract between MSC and OLP or Cosco Pacific will be signed until then, and in fact MSC currently uses both container Piers I and II when it comes to Piraeus
  • Salaries of up to €140 000 a year, with most dockworkers registering for work from 325 to 335 days per year, were confirmed by a judicial inquiry in 2004. These were mainly due to antiquated work regulations on the composition of docker gangs and other rules, including payment for work in the terminal
  • Despite a successful beginning with revenue growth from €12 million to €30 million in 2002, in 2005 the revenue was just €17 million, while all the key financial metrics (i.e. equity growth, asset growth, and productivity growth expressed as operating profits/job) had deteriorated
  • Pallis, A. A. and Syriopoulos, T., 2007, Port governance models: A financial evaluation of Greek port restructuring. Transport Policy, 14(2), 232–246
  • Ministry of Mercantile Marine Statement of 6 June 2007
  • De Langen , PW and Pallis , AA . 2006 . Analysis of the benefits of intra-port competition . International Journal of Transport Economics , 33 ( 1 ) : 69 – 85 .
  • Psaraftis, H. N., 2006, Greece. In: ISL (2006), Public Financing and Charging Practices of Seaports in the EU, Study prepared for European Commission, DG-TREN (Brussels: European Commission), pp. 424–472
  • As late as summer 2011, Cosco Pacific maintained the same tariffs as OLP, however these tariffs are substance-wise more attractive to users as they include services such as lashing, which are not included as part of the OLP service to lines, being charged separately by the lines agents in Piraeus
  • Psaraftis , HN . 2005 . Tariff reform in the port of Piraeus: A practical approach . Maritime Economics and Logistics , 7 ( 4 ) : 356 – 381 .
  • OLP has at Pier I additional quay length and equipment, including 4 new super post panamax ship to shore gantry cranes, 2 panamax ship to shore gantry cranes, 6 rail mounted gantry cranes and 2 rubber tyre gantry cranes
  • De Langen , PW and Pallis , AA . 2007 . Entry barriers in seaports . Maritime Policy and Management , 34 ( 5 ) : 427 – 440 .
  • Notteboom , T . 2002 . Consolidation and contestability in the European container handling industry . Maritime Policy and Management , 29 : 257 – 269 .
  • Olivier , D . 2005 . Private entry and emerging partnerships in container terminal operations: Evidence from Asia . Maritime Economics and Logistics , 7 ( 2 ) : 87 – 115 .
  • Airriess , CA . 2001 . The regionalization of Hutchison Port Holdings in Mainland China . Journal of Transport Geography , 9 : 267 – 278 .
  • Hall , PV . 2003 . Regional institutional convergence? Reflections from the Baltimore Waterfront . Economic Geography , 79 ( 3 ) : 347 – 363 .
  • Jacobs , W . 2007 . Port competition between Los Angeles and Long Beach: An institutional analysis . Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie , 98 : 360 – 372 .
  • Jacobs , W and Hall , PV . 2007 . What conditions supply chain strategies of ports? The case of Dubai . GeoJournal , 68 : 327 – 342 .
  • Ng , KYA and Pallis , AA . 2010 . Port governance reforms in diversified institutional frameworks: Generic solutions, implementation asymmetries . Environment and Planning A , 42 ( 9 ) : 2147 – 2167 .
  • Ng , KYA and Gujar , GC . 2009 . The spatial characteristics of inland transport hubs: evidences from Southern India . Journal of Transport Geography , 17 ( 5 ) : 346 – 356 .
  • Pallis, A. A., 2007, Whither port strategy? Theory and practice in conflict. In: Maritime Transport: The Greek Paradigm, edited by idem (London: Elsevier), pp. 345–386

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