The Port of Thessaloniki is one of the largest seaports in the Eastern Mediterranean and is considered the gateway Port to the Balkans and South-East Europe, located in Northern Greece close to the major Trans-European motorway and railway networks with direct access to the Southeastern European countries. The Port of Thessaloniki is situated strategically in Europe’s Aegean Sea closer to the East of the Suez. Off late, box ships have increased in sizes and are calling at larger seaports which can accommodate them leaving the once busier and then major ports high and dry. Seaports, all across Europe and Asia are upgrading themselves to facilitate the docking of the major box ships. The situation may be related to the Airports around the world post introduction of the A380 by Airbus demanding airports to increase their runway length and width to host their larger planes. Surprisingly their production has been stopped now. But the speed of things shaping up in the shipping sector tells us that there is no sign of a slowdown of growth in the near future.
The Board of the Port of Thessaloniki may never have imagined that one day they will have to increase their depth from the existing 12 meters to the proposed 18 meters. It has now become the need of the hour to increase the channel depth to provide access to very large container vessels. The Port of Thessaloniki, therefore, has recently announced a 150 million Euros contract award for an infrastructure project which will place the Greek port in the league of the large seaports around the world. The port of Thessaloniki would then be able to receive very large box ships of capacities up to 24,000 TEU.
The construction contract has been awarded to a joint venture between Mytilineos SA, Rover Maritime SL and HDK SA. The contract includes the construction of a new additional quay wall of 513 metres in length out of which 470 metres will have a depth of 17.7 metres. Construction of an additional yard area with a width of 306.5 metres and other necessary port infrastructure works will as required for smooth operation will be carried out.
The project is expected to be completed by 2025 and could generate annual revenues exceeding €230 million for maritime stakeholders post expansion of the port infrastructure.
Executive Chairman of the Port of Thessaloniki’s Board of Directors, Athanasios Liagkos, commented on the contract award: ‘The implementation of the project of Pier 6 expansion, contributes substantially to the economic and social growth, offering various and multiplier benefits for ThPA S.A. and more broadly for the businesses associated with port activities, both locally and nationally. The completion of the project marks the substantial upgrading of the position of the Port of Thessaloniki in the global port industry and the supply chain sector, strengthening its leading role in the country’s international development.’
