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The global scramble for ports
The article describes a global race to control port infrastructure, highlighting developments in Greece around the Port of Piraeus, Elefsina, Thessaloniki, and Alexandroupolis, and noting a broader forecast of rising port investment worldwide.
Why It Matters
Ports are critical arteries of global trade, and increasing competition over them reflects strategic and economic aims, potentially easing chokepoints and lowering shipping costs over time.
Timeline
5 Events
PwC forecast: global port infrastructure spending to rise to $90bn by 2035
May 1, 2026
PwC forecasts that global port infrastructure spending will rise by more than a third to $90 billion annually by 2035.
Alexandroupolis port: U.S. and NATO build a logistics hub
May 1, 2026
American and NATO forces have built a logistics hub at the Port of Alexandroupolis, farther northeast.
Thessaloniki port: Russian and Chinese investors take stake
May 1, 2026
Russian and Chinese investors have taken a stake in the Port of Thessaloniki, located about 500km north of Piraeus.
Elefsina port: U.S. backing for a commercial port development
May 1, 2026
The American government is backing a bid to develop a commercial port at Elefsina, about 30km west of Piraeus.
Piraeus port: COSCO-majority ownership and Europe's busiest container port
May 1, 2026
The Port of Piraeus is described as one of Europe’s busiest, with more than 4 million containers moving through it each year, and is majority-owned by COSCO, the Chinese state-owned firm.