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Airports, Ports and Logistics Top Athens Transport, Infrastructure Meet Agenda
Posted On 25 May 2017
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Tag: 1st Infrastructure and Transport in Greece: Prospects for Development Conference, c7949c, c9967c, Cosco, Ergose, goldair group, Greece freight services, Greece infrastructure, Greece logistics, Greece privatizations, Greece projects, Greece tourism and travel, Greece trade, Greece transport, Kallinikos Kallinikos, Kasteli Airport, l166l, Piraeus Port, Thriasio, Thriasio freight center
Photo Source: Athens International Airport
Ways to tap into the expansion of combined transport and upgraded infrastructure were explored during the 1st conference on “Infrastructure and Transport in Greece: Prospects for Development” held in Athens on Wednesday.
The event brought together executives and stakeholders from the wider combined transport industry (airlines – airports, railways, express delivery – logistics, shipping and public transport), who explored the opportunities for growth in the transport sector due to the privatization and the further liberalization of the market, given the upgrade of the country’s road, air, rail and port networks.
Highlights included efforts to transform Athens International Airport (AIA) into an international hub, which according to AIA president Dimitris Dimitriou has seen passenger traffic rise by 60 percent over the 2013-2016 period, and is now serving 107 international destinations in 51 countries.
Cosco, meanwhile, also has plans to convert Piraeus into a gateway and product distribution center for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, also aiming to boost container volume by 35 percent by 2018.
Goldair Group, with a strong presence in tourism and transportation, is aiming to focus on logistics.
“Logistics are evolving into a ‘star-sector’ of the Greek economy, mainly due to the geopolitical position of the country, and the two ports of Piraeus and Thessaloniki,” said Goldair Group Executive VP Kallinikos Kallinikos, adding that the development of the Thriasio freight center is a strategic investment for the Greek economy.
Kallinikos noted that the Thriasio is the first facility in Greece to handle combined transport, linked to the port of Piraeus, but also to the trans-European rail and road transport network Ten-T.
Greek railways operator Ergose announced that the Tithorea-Lianokladi-Domokos section will have been completed by 2018, while the Kasteli airport project on the island of Crete, was also moving ahead, officials said.
The conference was organized by Greek websites ypodomes.com and metaforespress.gr.
