14 kilometres of the European coast belong to China. Beijing has bought the bankrupt Greeks, the oldest and largest port in their country – and invested heavily: The port of Piraeus is the fastest growing container port in the world. How is that possible? SGZ shows how China wants to flood the EU with its goods.

The heat is huge, sweat dripping from my forehead. It is the last day of the high season in Piraeus, the old port of Athens. Once again huge ferries arrive, tourists from all over the country get out. Other ships are ready for departure, crammed with cars, food and other items needed on the islands or for cruise passengers.

Vasilis, my companion from Athens, leads me into a large hall. The air conditioning systems are running at full speed, cold air redeems us. But inside – yawning emptiness. Noisy ticket office, where no one pending. They are no longer needed. Even Vasilis is surprised. Actually, we wanted to eat here, as it was possible for decades.

At a snack next door, we learn what’s going on. “The port company wants to build completely new infrastructure. They charged us with the fees – nobody will be able to keep this up for long, “explains the waitress. “In the past, everything was full of canteens. We are the last remaining. ”

Huge is the wounds left by the financial crisis. Greece is in a permanent crisis, paralyzed by a huge debt mountain. Berlin’s tough stance and the massive investments of German banks and companies in the distressed partner state – all this affects people like a hostile takeover from the north.

But not only Germany benefits from the sell-off in Greece. The company against which the grudge of the kiosk operator is aimed comes from China: Cosco is one of the world’s largest shipping companies – with huge potential. Because Cosco belongs to the Chinese people. Better to say: the People’s Republic of China. And she has big plans.

The New Silk Road: A Global Marshall Plan

Beijing wants to bring the old Silk Road to a new life. Along with several routes from east to west – and vice versa – goods are to be exchanged again and trade intensified. Immense investments in infrastructure are necessary for this. Above all, roads, railroad tracks and bridges have yet to be built.

Athens Harbor plays a vital role in this global Marshall Plan. For the sea route is also part of the concept: From the gigantic ports on the coast of China, huge container ships are already driving across India and the east coast of Africa to the Red Sea. When they finally reach the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal, they arrive in Piraeus, the first natural deep-sea port in Europe.

Instead of driving another seven days to Rotterdam or Hamburg, the shipping companies will be able to deliver a large part of their cargo in Athens. From here, the goods from the Far East should be transported by train. Especially the states of Eastern Europe, which woos China as part of its Silk Road strategy, can be supplied much faster and cheaper in the future. But deliveries to Central Europe could be shortened by several days.

This is still a dream of the future because the expansion of harbour and railway lines takes time. Since 2002, Cosco had been working to secure Athens’ port piece by piece. The big breakthrough finally came with the privatization program, to which the EU and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forced Greece due to the debt crisis: For around 280 million euros in 2010 Cosco took over from the Greek state 51 per cent of the port company Piraeus Port Authority (PPA). Thus, Cosco secured until 2052 the operator rights for several container, car and passenger terminals.

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