The OEM has signed a deal with Chinese shipping Company Cosco to create a distribution hub in Piraeus.
France24 reported that the OEM is intending to move a “key part of its regional supplies” through the port, with the Greek development ministry adding that the OEM’s central distribution hub for central Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, the eastern Mediterranean and eastern Europe will move to Piraeus as part of the deal with Cosco.
The port has recently seen a new 17 kilometre (10.6 mile) railway line connect it to the European freight network, and the site added that this would mean shipments from the port would be able to reach HP’s European facility in Prague in only five days. The country’s state rail operator Trainose, which is due to be privatised, would be able to handle 2,000 trains per year from the port.
The country, which has struggled with financial issues over the past few years after the global credit crisis, is said to be ready to benefit from the move, with Prime Minister Antonis Samaras stating: “I wish to thank these two companies [HP and Trainose] who are marking a new start for Piraeus through this dynamic move. Such investment will help our country deal with unemployment, which remains the top item on this government’s agenda”.
A day before the deal was made, the government also passed a VAT exemption law for foreign companies moving goods through Greece, with imports needing to be worth at least €120 million ($156 million) a year for the first five years, and €300 million ($390 million) after, whilst 90 percent of the goods “must be earmarked for non-Greek markets”.
The deal was provisionally agreed in November, with Cosco having a 35-year concession agreement with the Piraeus Port Authority to “run two of its container terminals”. Unemployment in the country currently stands at 27 percent, with six out of every 10 youths struggling to find a job.
HP’s global supply and transport operations currently run to around $50 billion (€38 billion), with the company’s Senior Vice President for Operations Tony Prophet adding that “we believe in Greece and the future of the Greek economy” in light of the deal.