Sign the contracts that assign the management of the port of Limassol to the consortia guided from Eurogate and DP World



Yesterday to Nicosia the government of Cyprus has undersigned with two networks of private companies the contracts of concession for the management of the main terminaliste activities and of the technical-nautical services of the port of Limassol, he comes to an agreement that they will altogether bring to the cases of the State returns pairs to 1,9 billion euros about in the arc of the entire duration of contracts.

Two contracts are signed with the terminalista group DP World of Dubay and are relative to the management of a multipurpose terminal and of marine-harbour services in the port of Limassol, activity for which two months ago the consortium constituted from the Middle Eastern group and its Maritime branch P&O was selected which better offerer ( on 26 February 2016).

To DP World Limassol, society integrally controlled from the group of Dubay, is adjudicated the contract of concession of the duration 25-year-old for the management of the multipurpose terminal, in which several activities of handling of goods will be carried out, included the rotabili, and will be managed also traffic fleeting. Moreover to the Maritime P&O Cyprus, society integrally controlled from DP World, is adjudicated the contract of concession of the duration 15-year-old for the development of marine services in the port of Limassol, included the pilotage and towing services. Both the activities will be realized by DP World through two joint venture with the marine group and logistic Cypriot G.A.P. Vassilopoulos, societies that will be both participated to 75% from the Middle Eastern group and to 25% from the local group.

Before to assume the entire management of such activities, in concomitanza with the start of the duration of the concessions previewed on January 29, 2017, the technical-nautical operations to the multupurpose terminal and services they will continue to being realized from the Cyprus Port Authority with the collaboration of Maritime DP World and P&O Services so as to assure a progressive transition towards the new management.

Moreover the Cypriot government, through the minister of the Transports, the communications and the public works, Marios Demetriades, has signed also the contract with the consortium participated to 60% from the terminalista group German Eurogate International GmbH, to 20% to the shipowning society Cypriot Interorient Navigation Company and to 20% from the Luxemburger East Med Holdings, consortium that two months ago had been also it selected which better offerer in the within of the procedures of contest for the privatization of the activities of the port of Limassol. This consortium will manage the container terminal of the Cypriot port, than currently it occupies an area of 35 hectares and is equipped of a line of dock of 800 meters with depth of the backdrop of -16 meters for a annual ability to traffic pairs to 500 thousand teu.

"The Limassol Container Terminal - it has emphasized the chairman of the Eurogate group, Thomas Eckelmann - constitutes an ideal strategic completion of the Network of the Eurogate group. With Tangeri to the West, Gioia Tauro and Cagliari to the center and Limassol in the part oriental of the Mediterranean - it has explained - now Eurogate is present in all the Mediterranean region". In fact the German group work in the Moroccan port of Tanger Med through the society Eurogate Tanger that is participated to 50% from TangerMedGate, joint venture whose 40% are of property of the Eurogate group and 40% of Contship Italy, society that in its turn manages the container terminal of the ports of Gioia Tauro and Cagliari and that it is participated to 33.4% from Eurogate and 66.6% from the German group Eurokai, than in its turn possesses 50% of Eurogate (remaining 50% is in the hands of logistic group German BLG Logistics).

Eurogate has specified that it intends to carry out investments in order to modernize the Cypriot terminal, with the means introduction of handling, systems of information technology and with work to the terminalistiche areas. The terminal will be called Eurogate Container Terminal Limassol Ltd.

"The distance of change and reform that the government has persecuted - has commented minister Demetriades - it has been challenging. We have carried out this distance following a tempistica lock out that was agreed with our partner and the international creditors. This road, after a series of fundamental moments, has carried to us to return to the increase. One of these goals, important for the ulterior development of the Cypriot economy, is constituted by the combination between the institutional force of the public sector and the commercial force of the private sector. To such scope we have fixed two objectives: to identify the operators who would have developed the business activities of the port of Limassol, the main port of call of the nation, and the restructure and modernization of the activities of our ports. Objectives that had to be reached within terms of time agreed with the Troika which contribution to the program of reforms and for the escape of the Country from the mechanism of support under the guide of the Ministry of Finances. , To today single ten months from the start of the privatization procedure - it has emphasized Demetriades - this event marks the attainment of these objectives".