By mid-2029, the project to extend the 6th pier of the port of Thessaloniki is estimated to be ready, which will significantly upgrade its commercial and geopolitical importance, while within the same timeline or at the latest by 2030, the long-awaited projects for connection to the road and railway network are also estimated to be completed. The investment, which amounts to 200 million euros for the port works section, is estimated could approach a total of 270 million euros, including the mechanical equipment, the cost of which is estimated at 50-70 million, depending on the degree of automation that will be selected.
The above was pointed out by the CEO of the Thessaloniki Port Authority (OLTH SA) Dr. Ioannis Tsaras, characteristically noting that the 200 million investment will be “for nothing, if the port is not connected to the railway”.
During a discussion at the 2nd Thessaloniki Investment Forum, with the director of CNN.GR Dimitris Pefanis, Dr. Tsaras also pointed out that the two excellent -as he described them- companies with which the contract for the project was signed (i.e. METKA ATE and TEKAL SA), guarantee that the project “will proceed seriously and correctly and within the stipulated time period, unless strange things arise, which we know how to solve and believe will not happen”.
Additional “yard” for 1.5 million TEUs
In more detail, Dr. Tsaras informed that in approximately 40 months the civil engineering works for the extension of the 6th pier are estimated to be completed, that is, the port works, which will increase the length of the quay by approximately 500 meters and its width by 300, while at the same time the maximum depth at which large container ships berth today will be achieved.
“Simultaneously we will create an additional ‘yard’, approximately 160,000-170,000 square meters, which is necessary, because today we have reached about 90% of the capacity of the container terminal.
We have reached the management of approximately 600,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit) annually and we are hopeful to reach 1.4-1.5 million in a decade, because a serious effort is needed to convince the shipping lines to start coming here,”
he said, reminding that the port of Thessaloniki will be able to accommodate ships of 14,000 TEUs in size, at a time when those that dock in the Thermaic Gulf today are in the order of 4,000-7,000 TEUs.
In April the contractor for the railway connection
Meanwhile, in April the contractor for the project to connect the port to the central railway network via an elevated bridge is estimated to be appointed, with the prospect of the project being completed within three years from the start of works, that is, almost simultaneously with the extension of the 6th pier, according to Dr. Tsaras.
“Today, indeed every pier of the port has a railway line, but the exit from the port is difficult, as it almost cuts the city in two, passing through 26th October Street, where, among other things, large hotels operate. We are in constant consultation with the state as well, in order to create the new connection of the 6th pier with the country’s central railway network. I am continuously in talks with ERGOSE and OSE and the matter has progressed considerably, the required studies have been approved.
We requested -and the state agreed- for the possibility of creating a double exit line from the port, and even an elevated one, on a bridge,” he noted, reminding that while it is a small project -since its length does not exceed 1.1 km outside the port- it is definitely difficult, precisely because it will be developed on a bridge.
The road connection and the Egnatia Odos
The road network connecting the 6th pier with PATHE via the junction at Kalochori remains unfinished, which must be re-tendered after the termination of the previous contract, due to delays related to expropriations. An additional issue in the new process is who will be the project’s owner: “Due to expropriations and various problems, the contract was stopped and now, after the expropriations were completed and the administrative removal of some who did not leave the properties was ordered, the remaining part of the project, with a budget of 30-40 million euros, must be re-tendered. I believe that this project will also be completed around the same time as the other two (pier extension and railway connection), provided it is tendered immediately. (One question is) whether Egnatia Odos SA will again be the project’s owner, because it is being privatized and it seems that by the end of the year it will pass to TERNA. Will the project be its own, will it be the state’s?”, wondered Dr. Tsaras, who, however, stressed that in the coming period he himself “will be running” both of these large projects – the road and railway connection of the port.
Koper and Rijeka
Finally, referring to the competition from other ports, he noted that the Port of Thessaloniki adequately serves the hinterland, but action must be taken for transit cargo, which is directed to foreign markets. “We were very delayed and other ports developed in the Adriatic, such as Koper and Rijeka, which has already taken a significant amount of cargo from us, which we will try to bring back with the better organization of the container terminal’s operation, the much newer machinery and the proverbial security of the port,” he noted and added that if all goes well, the port of Thessaloniki moves up a category and will serve a wider part of Europe, plus the needs of the army and NATO, where there is already very good cooperation in the field of transport.
The forum is organized by CNN Greece in co-organization with the Region of Central Macedonia, under the auspices of the Ministry of Development and the Deputy Ministry of Macedonia Thrace and the sponsorship of the Thessaloniki Tourism Organization._
