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An investment tender for 11.3 billion euros for the port of Thessaloniki is announced, Imerisia reported. The project is to make the old port a modern yachts marina and according to initial information, there is already a strong investors’ interest. The tender documents necessary for the international competition notice are being prepared currently. The tender decision should be announced in the Journal of the European Union and then in the Greek Gazette. Against the investment, the company that will implement the project will receive a license to use the marina for 30 years.

Based on the current schedule, the tender will be developed in two stages. The first is to select all companies that are considered appropriate and meet the qualification standards and economic requirements to be admitted to the second round. The selection of suitable candidates will be completed in late August this year. The final winning company that will be assigned the project will be selected by the end of the year. The new marina is expected to open 218 new jobs, and the time for the project implementation is between a year and a half and two years.

At the same time, it became clear that the port of Piraeus is making a new cruise terminal that will be able to meet eight thousand passengers more a day. The construction of the new platform has started already but it was delayed due to archaeological research in the area. The finishing works should be completed in mid-season. Four million euros from the state budget are allocated for the development of the project. The benefits from the new port infrastructure are estimated at 600 million euros in revenues over the next four years, mainly from attracting new international transport companies in the field of tourism.

According to the organization that manages the port of Piraeus, the first five months of 2011 were surprisingly good. The number of passengers using the port of Piraeus as a point of arrival and departure of ferries and cruises has increased by 29.7% compared with same period last year. Even the expectations of cruise companies have turned out to be low since the passenger flow increased by 15% more than planned in late 2010.

"The assessment of the best opportunities for public use of these assets will be guided by the principles of national interest protection, development of transport and tourism, increase in employment and prosperity by regions," said the Minister of Finance Evangelos Venizelos. In Parliament, he spoke about the importance of the privatization program on the road to economic recovery and pledged that the process of selecting contractors will take place in absolute transparency. Venizelos stressed that the state should benefit from the experience and capabilities of the private sector to completely develop the infrastructure opportunities in the country.