The successful bidder will be obliged to invest 180 million euros in the port over seven years.

Greek ports will come to a standstill Thursday for the third time this year as dockers, seamen and tug crews join a nationwide, general, 24-hour strike.

Greek ports are at a standstill as dockworkers take part in the first general strike since the country’s leftist government took power in January.

Greece has set deadlines for the privatization of its two major ports, Piraeus and Thessaloniki, after waffling on the issue in the first half of year and putting the country’s privatization efforts in doubt.

Greece has received expressions of interest from eight companies bidding for a majority stake in the Thessaloniki Port Authority (OLTH), the operator of the country’s second largest seaport.

Greece is mulling bringing forward the sale of the country’s main ports, Piraeus and Thessaloniki, and the state railway, to cover a shortfall in its privatization budget.

Container freight shipping company Evergreen Line will launch a feeder service linking Greece, Turkey and Malta at the end of January.