Greek infrastructure development group Copelouzos has signed a deal with China's Shenhua Group to work together on green energy projects, and to upgrade power plants in Greece and other countries. The agreement envisages a total investment of around three billion euros.
Copelouzos made the announcement to coincide with the arrival in Beijing of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras for the Belt and Road Forum.
Shenhua Group Corporation is the largest coal mining company in the world, and one of the largest energy producers in China, not only from conventional sources but also from renewables. Copelouzos Group is one of the largest investment groups in Greece, with a diversified range of activities including energy and infrastructure.
The agreement calls for cooperation and development in the green energy sector, and in the environmental upgrading of energy generating units in Greece and other countries.
“We are confident that the cooperation with Shenhua Group will act as a catalyst for the conclusion of important investments and will promote the energy industry in Greece, with an emphasis on green energy and the environmental upgrading of energy producing units,” commented Dimitris Copelouzos, founder and president of Copelouzos Group.
Greece has assumed an important role within the Belt-Road, not only because of its geographical position, but also because its struggling economy needs new investment. Strained relations with its European Union partners, in particular Germany, have made Greek politicians highly receptive to building closer relations with China.
Over the past two years Greece has been conducting a privatisation programme forced upon it by the so-called Troika, comprising the European Central Bank, European Commission and the International Monetary Fund. These three institutions are demanding economic reform in return for rescheduling sovereign debt payments.
In 2016 COSCO Shipping acquired a majority stake in Piraeus Port Authority. The port is being expanded as an important hub for rapidly growing trade between Asia and Eastern Europe. Chinese companies are currently constructing a network of motorways and rail links which will feed freight into Piraeus.
Also in 2016, China State Grid agreed to buy a 24% stake in power grid operator ADMIE, in a deal worth 320 million euros. State Grid wants to increase investment in renewable energy, and also improve the efficiency of its power connections to smaller islands.
Through its stake in ADMIE, State Grid has been looking into ways to help with the 1.5-billion-euro EuroAsia Interconnector project. This involves linking up, via undersea cables, the power transmission systems of Israel, Cyprus and Greece via the island of Crete.
