Piraeus port is seen as a key entry way for Chinese goods. Angelos Tzortzinis / AFP

Fresh from success in securing control of Piraeus Port Authority SA, Chinese shipping giant Cosco is also bidding to run the port of Limassol on the divided island of Cyprus, in a bid to extend its reach in the Mediterranean Sea.

Cosco was among investors who expressed interest in running the container terminal and the multi-purpose terminal, according to a senior source in the Cypriot government. The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works said on Jan. 21 that a total of 14 investors had placed bids for three concession opportunities.

Cosco is one of the six bidders for the port's container terminal and one of five vying for the multi-purpose terminal, according to the source. Another three companies have placed bids to run a marine services concession, according to the Jan. 21 statement.

Other companies interested in the concession opportunities at the Cypriot port are DB World of Dubai and Phillipines-based International Container Terminal Services Inc., the source said.

Cosco's interest in the Limassol port came after it was declared the preferred, and only, bidder for a controlling stake in Piraeus Port, Greece's biggest harbor, and one of the largest in the Mediterranean.

Cosco increased an initial offer in response to a Greek request and will pay 368.5 million euros for a 67 percent stake in Piraeus, a gateway that is key to China's plans to create a modern commercial empire pumping Chinese goods throughout Europe.

Limassol Port is the main port of the Republic of Cyprus, serving most of the island's seaborne cargo and passenger traffic. The port accounts for nearly all container traffic, about half of total cargo and 75 percent of passenger traffic on the island, according to the tender documents.

Andreas Michaelides, the general director of the ministry, said in the Jan. 21 statement that the country's aim was to make the port of Limassol a “gateway for development for the future”.

The Cypriots hope to draw investment to a port that may well be able to offer hydrocarbon support services in the future to support a burgeoning offshore oil and gas industry in the region, considered instrumental to Cyprus's future economic development.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said during a visit to Nicosia last month that China was interested in operating Cypriot ports and wanted to help turn the eastern Mediterranean island nation into a regional shipping hub, AP reported at the time.

Chinese investment in the region is a key part of China's One Belt, One Road policy, which envisages creating the 21st century land and maritime equivalent of the Silk Road. Since the Chinese shipping behemoth started container operations in Greece in 2009, traffic has surged at Piraeus, making the harbor one of the fastest-growing ports in the world.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded in response to an abortive coup by a Greek military regime to unite the island with Greece. Limassol port evolved into the internationally-recognised Republic of Cyprus's biggest port following the division of the island, when the port of Famagusta, Cyprus's main port for centuries, fell under the control of Turkish forces. .

Hiving off licences for the port's activities is part of terms for the 10 billion-euro bailout the country agreed with European partners and the International Monetary Fund in 2013 when Greece's debt restructuring imposed losses on Cypriot banks, forcing the country to seek international aid, impose capital controls and seize deposits at the country's two biggest banks.

But Cyprus has adhered faithfully to the terms set by lenders and is on track to exit its bailout program on time in March, Finance Minister Haris Georgiades told European parliamentarians in Brussels this week.

Preferred bidders for the port concessions will be announced before the end of March, according to the statement.

The author is a freelance writer who contributed this story to China Daily.