By T. Tsiros
The gap in the 2016 state budget over the January-July period from privatizations will reach 80 to 90 million euros, with delays in finally transferring a majority stake of the Piraeus Port Authority (OLP) to Cosco given as the reason.
The delay prevented the finance ministry from writing down 280 million euros in its “black column”, a sum which would have exceeded the target for privatizations in the current budget. Nevertheless, the transfer of 51 percent of OLP’s shares to Cosco is expected to be finalized this month, and by extension, significantly boost the figure for the eight-month period in 2016.
The revenue from privatizations in the country has been paltry since 2014, with only 384 million euros collected that year; 254 million euros in 2015 and only 55 million euros in the first six months of 2016. Yet the figure for the current year remains at 1.8 billion euros. The figure appears ambitious, on paper, yet officials from the semi-autonomous privatization fund, TAIPED or HRADF, believe that not only can it be met, but easily exceeded.
The third memorandum, the one signed by the leftist Tsipras government and later passed by a wide margin in Parliament, cites a target of 6.1 billion euros from privatizations through August 2018. The first year of the third bailout memorandum only brought in 90 million euros.
The “surest bets” for revenue from privatizations are, of course, the Piraeus port authority and the transfer of the management of 14 regional airports to a consortium led by Germany’s Fraport.
The Cosco-OLP deal entails the transfer, in two installments, of 67 percent of the latter’s shares, with a total sale price of 368.5 million euros. Some 280 million euros will flow into state coffers this month.
The deal with Fraport for the 14 regional airports stands at 1.234 billion euros, with an annual lease at 22.9 million euros also foreseen. November is seen as the soonest date by which the agreement will be finalized in order to allow money to change hands.
The privatization fund expects to receive 95 million euros from the sale of its stake of the Astir Pallas resort in Vouliagmeni, an upscale coastal region southeast of Athens proper. Another 45 million euros will come from Ferrovie Dello Stato Italiane, the winning – and only -- bid for Greek rail operator Trainose, and after the offer is evaluated and accepted.
Negotiations are also underway to extend the concession contract for the Athens International Airport and to sell off a stake still held by the state in the one-time telephony monopoly (OTE) by the end of the year.
