Piraeus an integral part of the Greek capital. The port of Piraeus is now an important international port, and the largest in the country. Piraeus is situated in the southwest part of the central plain of Attica, also widely known as the "Athens or Attica Basin", which the Athens agglomeration (urban area) sprawls across. Piraeus is bounded by the Mount Aigaleo to the northwest, and the Saronic Gulf to the south and west, and connected with the rest of the Athens Urban Area to the east and northeast. The "city proper" of Piraeus consists of a rocky peninsula, originally an island,
Port of Piraeus the Greek government-debt crisis started in late 2009 the Greek government planned to privatize several state-owned assets. These assets are believed to be worth around 50 billion euros. One of these assets is the port of Piraeus. In October 2009 Greece leased docks 2 and 3 from PPA to the China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (in short: COSCO) for a 35-year-period. For its presence at the port COSCO is paying 100 million euros every year. Terminal 1 is operated by PPA S.A. and has a capacity of nearly 1 million TEUs. Terminal 2's capacity is 3 million TEUs and is