Piraeus Port Upgrade and Expansion Works to Resume

Upgrade and expansion works at Piraeus Port, Greece’s largest, are set to resume after the Greek Environment Ministry approved a traffic study on the impact of traffic loads in the area and a series of environmental terms.

The projects, which include the southern extension of the port of Piraeus to allow large cruise ships to dock and the extension of the Herakleous pier to create 5,400 new parking spaces, came to a halt earlier this year after the mayors and residents of neighboring municipalities Keratsini and Perama appealed.

The master plan for Piraeus, was approved earlier this year. Initially tabled by Piraeus Port Authority (PPA) managers Cosco in 2017, the 600-million-euro investment for the expansion of the port ran into obstacles back then after Greece’s Central Archaeological Council (KAS) decided to designate a significant part of Piraeus as a site of archaeological importance.

Cruise Terminal B at the Piraeus port. Photo source: Greek Travel Pages.

The Greek Shipping Ministry approved the plan and called for the balanced integration with the surrounding urban areas of Piraeus, Drapetsona, Keratsini, Perama and Salamina.

One of the most important works at Piraeus is the construction of a new cruise terminal budgeted at 136.2 million euros with funds from the EU and set once competed to accommodate the largest cruise ships in the world with a capacity of up to 9,000 passengers.

According to the latest PPA data, the port saw the number of passenger arrivals rise by 85 percent in the January-August period over the same months in 2022 handling 928,357 passengers over 500,905 in the year-ago period. At the same time, 78 percent of ships homeported with 478 ship arrivals, up by 14 percent from January to August compared to 419 in 2022.