Chinese Investors Set Sights on Corfu Waterway

Chinese investors will be visiting the Ionian island of Corfu, on Sunday, to discuss collaborating with the operators of the Corfu waterway, which is the first and thus far only enterprise granted official licensing.

The president of Water Airports, Tasos Govas, will be accompanying representatives from a Chinese fund which has invested in the construction a new type of seaplane, the Dornier Seastar.

“The Chinese fund has already invested more than 120 million euros in the production of the Dornier Seastar, so they have reason to want to see a market for the seaplanes they build,” Mr Govas said.

In the meantime, the President of the Corfu Port Authority, Spyros Stefanidis, said that he expects the island waterway to be fully operational in spring, and added that the next step involves the creation of waterways in Patra, Kefalonia, Zakynthos, Ithaca and Kalamata.

“We are expecting in the coming days that the government will give the green light to the waterway on Paxi,” said Govas, but added that for the operations to become sustainable, there must be a fully operational network in place across Greece, with as many operators offering services.

To date, of the 15 applications awaiting approval, only one waterway, that on the island of Corfu, has received licensing. In the meantime, the government through the infrastructure ministry, said it would be preparing a new draft law with the aim to accelerate the licensing procedure, which also involves a number of entities, including the Civil Aviation Authority and the state-run Enterprise Greece investment management agency.