Cosco Pacific, the terminals offshoot of China's largest shipping company, is on course to start container stevedoring operations at terminal three at Piraeus port in Greece next year.
The move is earlier than the 2015 target date given in the concession agreement Cosco Pacific signed with Greek authorities in 2009 to manage terminals two and three at the port. The Chinese company formed Piraeus Container Terminal to manage and operate the terminals under a 35-year concession.
Piraeus was the fastest-growing facility in Cosco Pacific's terminals portfolio in the first half of this year, with box throughput climbing 117.5 per cent to more than 1 million 20-foot equivalent units (teu), up from 484,280 teu in the first six months of last year.
The surge followed more calls at the port by shipping lines. Cosco Pacific also completed the upgrade of terminal two in June, which increased the annual handling capacity to 2.6 million teu.
Cosco Pacific financial controller Eddie Lui Sai-kit, said 72 per cent of the containers handled by terminal two was transshipment traffic that was unaffected by Greece's economic and debt problems.
The increase in volumes helped boost total revenue at Piraeus Container Terminal by 46.1 per cent to US$69.55 million, while profit surged nearly six times to US$11.83 million.