TAPED aims to turn the ports of Patras, Katakolos and Kavala into cruise stations

In the opening of an international competition for the development of activity in three important countries, the Public Property Utilization Fund (TAIPE), went on to try to exploit the comparative advantages of the areas and upgrade to an attractive tourist destination. The first part of the competition concerns the right to use, maintenance, operation and exploitation for the development of a cruise at the old port of Patras, the responsibility of the Patras Port Authority (OLPA SA) and the port of Katakolos with a minimum duration of 30 years. CORVERSE The second section concerns the sub-delegation of the right to use, maintenance, operation and exploitation for the development of a cruise in part of the Central Port of Kavala “Apostalos Paul”, within the jurisdiction of the Port Authority of Kavala (OLC SA), with a minimum duration of 30 years. Interested parties have the opportunity to express interest only in one or both parts of the competition. However, as stated in a TAIPED announcement, the Fund reserves the right to separate in Phase II the physical objects of Section 1 and assign different preferred investors the Katakolo port concession contract and the Patras port cruise sub-concession contract. CORVERSE However, according to information from the AEP-APM in the plans, it is possible for the ports of Katakolos and Patras to operate complementaryly with each other in the cruise industry without a competitive character since both ports have maritime access to the Ionian Sea. The attractiveness of the Port Market Executives areas, they say that the distance between the two ports of Patras and Katakolos, characterized by international interest, is expected to be reduced long after the completion of the Patras-Tower road. Guests will be able to visit the archaeological site of Ancient Olympia safely and without delay, to tour the commercial market of Patras, but also to drive if they wish to go to the archaeological site of Delphi. In this way there can be a combined exploitation by an investor. Also the port of Kavala “Apostolos Paul” is also very close (17 km) to the Archaeological site of Philippi, one of the most important sets of monuments all over Macedonia. The point can be combined with cruise ships arrivals from other ports in northern Greece. The competition for the development of the cruise announced by TAIPED will take place in two phases (1st Phase – Default & 2nd Phase – Submission of Binding Tenders). Interested parties have the opportunity to express interest only in one or both parts of the competition. End date of interest is set 28 February 2025. Tourist flows Further development of cruise activity in existing and new destinations is in line with the policy for rationalising tourist flows in popular cruise ports and addressing overconcentration phenomena. The port of Katakolos was ranked among the 10 cruise ports with the largest passenger traffic in 2023, mainly due to its proximity to Ancient Olympia, with 206 cruise ships and 390.153 passengers. It has the ability to serve up to three (3) cruise ships with a length of more than 350 meters. The port of Patras is classified as a port of international importance and forms part of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T). The old port of Patras has a land area of 206,474 sq.m. and the existing masterplan provides a porting position exclusively for cruise ships. In 2023 13 cruise ships sailed to the port of Patras with 800 passengers. The central port of Kavala “Apostle Paul” has two docking positions to serve cruise ships with a length of over 200 meters. According to data from the Greek Ports Association, passenger traffic in the cruise sector amounted in 2023 to 21,052 (36 cruise ships), ranking the port of Kavala within the 20 cruise ports with the biggest traffic last year.