A new era begun at the Piraeus Container Terminal through the first ever private mobile network delivered by Vodafone in Greece on behalf of PPA and PCT
Vodafone Business ushered in a new era for the Piraeus Container Terminal, which promises cutting-edge technologies and new, unlimited possibilities for the country’s largest port.
Acting as a catalyst in Greece’s technology and telecommunications, Vodafone designed, built, and delivered for use the first ever private mobile network in Greece, on behalf of the Piraeus Port Authority (PPA) and Piraeus Container Terminal (PCT).
Following an international tendering procedure, and based on the needs and specifications requested by PPA and PCT, Vodafone Greece submitted an integrated technology proposal, marking a historic moment for Greece’s communications, since it is the first time a business will utilize a mobile network purely for its own private use, laying the foundations for a fully digital hub of international shipping in Piraeus.
Objective: to become the region’s first digital port
The port of Piraeus structured mainly around its Container Terminal is growing dynamically and now occupies the first place in the Mediterranean with regard to the volume of containers passing through, while it is among the four largest in Europe, having managed to become a transshipment hub, but also an ideal entry and exit point to and from the European continent, serving the largest international shipping companies on a daily basis.
PPA and PCT were in search of a comprehensive digital solution that would make it possible to holistically increase the total service capacity of all operations in the port, through the use of advanced and completely safe technological infrastructure and services, with the aim of making the Piraeus Container Terminal the region’s most digital terminal and a vector of future applications.
Vodafone has successfully built and delivered this large project to PPA and PCT in just three months. This private network serves data traffic and covers all Piraeus container terminals and piers, offering a guaranteed network capacity of 2.7Gbps, which supports the entire supply chain and daily port operations, such as loading and unloading, cargo storage, distribution and precision functions.
Unique innovations with cutting-edge technologies
This state-of-the-art 4G / LTE network, developed on behalf of PPA and PCT, presents unique innovations and can also support the use of NB-IoT technology, thus enabling installation of sensors and implementation of digital applications.
The technological upgrade of the Piraeus Container Terminal contributes to the improvement of its operations and the upgrading of the services it provides to its end customers. Moreover, thanks to the highly responsive and zero-latency architecture of this network, it is possible to continuously transmit data and process it in real time, which paves the way for future technological applications. Furthermore, through additional security protocols and thanks to the closed structure of the first private mobile network, top security is achieved in the data that it transfers.
Cosco’s “Piraeus Container Terminal” to Provide Project Management Services to Piraeus Port Authority for Operating Pier I
The Board of Directors of the company under the name “Piraeus Port Authority Société Anonyme” (hereinafter “PPA S.A.”) announces that at its meeting of 20.02.2020 it has decided to provide a permission, in accordance with article 100 par. 1 of Law 4548/2018, for the conclusion of a transaction of PPA S.A. with the company under the name “PIRAEUS CONTAINER TERMINAL S.A.” (hereinafter “PCT S.A.”), which is a related party to PPA S.A. In particular, PPA S.A. as a subsidiary of “COSCO SHIPPING (Hong Kong) Limited” and PCT S.A. as a subsidiary of “COSCO SHIPPING Ports Limited” are related parties within the meaning of Article 99 par. 2 (a) of L. 4548/2018, as ultimate subsidiaries of “China COSCO SHIPPING Corporation Limited” (“COSCO SHIPPING Group”).
The subject of the transaction will be the provision of project management services by PCT S.A. to PPA S.A. for the business operation of Pier I of PPA S.A. and the main points of the contract, which has been executed today, 01/04/2020, under usual commercial terms, are the following: PCT S.A. will provide to PPA S.A. a wide range of highly specialized services related to the operation of the PIER I Container Terminal, for the purpose of PPA S.A. to achieve:
(i) the overall utilization of the Piraeus Container Terminal resources,(ii) the increase of the total throughput of Pier I of the port of Piraeus,(iii) the improvement of the quality of services provided by PPA S.A. in the Container Terminal of Pier I.
The fee of PCT S.A. will be a fixed annual service fee of sixty seven thousand Euros (€ 67,000.00) plus VAT, plus an additional management fee of four Euros (€ 4) per move, for any moves that exceed the throughput targets agreed each time, which for the period from the signing of the contract until January 31, 2021 will be 650,000 TEUs, with PCT S.A. guaranteeing throughput for this period of not less than 500,000 TEUs. The term of the contract will be three (3) years from the date of signature, with the possibility of a written extension and the right to terminate upon prior written notice (thirty days for substantial reason, or six months for any other reason). The applicable law will be Greek, and any disputes will be settled by arbitration, in accordance with ICC Rules.
For providing permission for the above transaction, the Board of Directors of PPA S.A. considered the fairness opinion dated 19/02/2020 of the auditing firm “Audit Plus S.A. Auditors”, with SOEL Registry Number 172, as signed by the Chartered Accountant and Certified Auditor Gerassimos Anast. Zafeiratos with SOEL Registry Number 20901, which assesses that the transaction is fair and reasonable for the Company and its non-related shareholders, including minority shareholders, and explains the assumptions on which it is based, together with the methods used.
The PPA S.A. Board of Directors minutes dated 20.02.2020, accompanied by the fairness opinion, was registered in the General Business Registry (GEMI) on 27.02.2020, according to the announcement nr. 23639 of the department for supervision of Listed Sociétés Anonymes of the General Secretariat for Commerce & Consumer Protection.