“The port of Elefsina is a strategically important investment. I want to clarify that the legislative initiative by the Ministry of Development concerns exclusively the use of the Elefsina shipyard. That is, the possibility of using the shipyard’s land for anything related to incidental functions, port functions, storage, energy, etc.,” said the Minister of Shipping and Island Policy, Vasilis Kikilias, in an interview he gave to SKAI TV and journalists, Dimitris Economou and Akis Pavlopoulos.
As he noted, “In any case, the concession of a port concerns a process that must have full concession conditions. Which means that it will either be the product of a competitive process or with another investment scheme, namely G2G, so that we are also compatible within the legal framework in which we are going to operate.”
When asked whether there is an issue with Cosco and the signatures of the Greek side, Mr. Kikilias replied that he does not respond to rumors, pointing out that “the agreements are those that are meant to be respected by all sides.”
Then, speaking about investment and geo-economic developments, he emphasized that “80% – 90% of world trade is carried out by sea. Whoever, therefore, controls the sea routes and port infrastructure, essentially dominates the planet. Greece has key ports, key port infrastructure for these uses and it is obvious that whoever comes and makes such investments in Greece, as has been done in the past in the port of Piraeus and the port of Thessaloniki, will obviously have the ability to dominate at the economic and energy level as well.”
Specifically, regarding the role of the Greek fleet, he noted that since it “constitutes 20% of the world fleet, it is the most powerful force on the planet in ocean-going shipping and this is a huge achievement of the Greeks. In every negotiation, therefore, it is a powerful, reinforcing factor. And for energy, in order to transport American LNG from the coasts of America to the other side of the Atlantic, to Europe and with the agreements signed for the reverse pipelines in Alexandroupolis, to store LNG in Greek FSRUs and to make Greece an energy hub, the Greek fleet is required.”
Referring to the investment interest, he noted that “the investments, even if and as long as they come from the American side, will be private investments. They will mean growth, wealth for our country, new jobs and the development of professions related to the shipbuilding industry and a heavy industry, which the country needs.”
He added that “there is a balance of trade transactions and an investment interest from abroad. Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his government, in these 7 years of governance, have tried very hard to bring foreign investments to the country. Our goal is the prosperity of Greek society and the Greek family. Can these investments have an impact? Can they influence the lives of citizens? I believe so.”
Finally, regarding the dimension of defense and the defense industry, he emphasized that “a port can have various uses. Commercial, energy uses, but also be a port for warships. A very important effort is being made in Greek shipyards, with investments in recent years, in order for us to slowly begin to acquire a part of the defense industry that we lost for many decades. Our neighbors, the Turks, have an almost autonomous defense industry and the time has come for the tenders that will be held for the large open-sea vessels of the Coast Guard or for ships of the Navy to involve Greek shipyards.”
