"For more than two years, Russian Railways has been studying the possibility of mutually beneficial cooperation to enhance the transport and logistics complex in Greece. We see the potential transformation of the Greek transport infrastructure as a major element of the economy. In this sense, part of the mutual benefits will be that we intend to come with investments and technology, and the Greek side can get a modern transport and logistics complex, which will create new jobs," said Senior Vice President of Russian Railways Valery Reshetnikov at the roundtable "Russia–Greece: Entering a New Era of Economic Cooperation" at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday.
He said that Russian Railways has examined traffic flows in southern and central Europe from Southeast Asia: there is about 16 million t of nonoil and oil products. The potential that Greece has in handling cargo at ports and transportation by rail is not fully realized.
The company sees an opportunity to increase turnover in Greece 2.5–3 times—up to 8–9 million t of cargo using the integrated development of the transport system of the country. This includes ports, transport and logistics centers, terminals, and railways.
According to Mr. Reshetnikov, Russian Railways has great experience in organizing such work, interacting with ports and participating in the management of the port of Ust-Luga, Novorossiysk port, and the port of Rason in North Korea. In 2014, the company entered into a tender process for the privatization of Greek transport assets and passed qualification.
"We want the conditions of the privatization to be transparent and understandable, the social obligations of passenger traffic to clear and precise, and the tariff policy to be understandable. In this regard, we would be happy to participate in the project, which eventually should bring positive trends in the development of Greece," said a top manager.