Piraeus municipality objects to shopping mall, tall buildings envisioned in port authority’s master plan

The mayor of Piraeus, the municipality that hosts the same-name port, the biggest and busiest in Greece, this week outlined his administration’s objections to a master plan submitted by the Cosco-run Piraeus Port Authority (PPA).

Mayor Yannis Moralis referred to the reservations during what was initially described as a courtesy meeting with new shipping minister Fotis Kouvelis.

While saying he and the municipality administration consider that the plan’s overall growth prospects are positive, the main objection is PPA’s intent to build a shopping mall within the port’s premises. Another objection lies in the height of proposed new buildings, with the municipality’s side maintaining that construction heights should not exceed zoning regulations applied in the rest of the municipality.

Conversely, Moralis cited delays in the proposed construction of a new pier to service cruise ships on the Piraiki seafront, east of the main commercial port, given that environmental and traffic studies have not been submitted as yet. Construction of the new pier is a condition in the Piraeus Port Authority concession, which was activated in August 2016 between the Greek state and Chinese multinational Cosco.

The PPA concession is one of the most important privatizations in Greece over the past few decades.