Spirtzis tries to put the blame on sell-off fund
The government is opening a new front with state sell-off fund TAIPED, focusing on the privatizations of Athens International Airport and Egnatia Odos, and the utilization of 10 regional ports, following the aggressive statements by Infrastructure Minister Christos Spirtzis and General Secretary for Ports Christos Lambridis.
Spirtzis, a known opponent of privatizations, implied after his meeting with the creditors’ mission chiefs on Wednesday that the delays in asset utilization are due to TAIPED.
“If we were to conduct the tenders ourselves, we would have finished by now, and achieved triple the price,” the minister said referring to the Egnatia concession and the AIA contract extension. He also referred to technical incompetence on the part of the fund’s consultants. TAIPED refrained from commenting on those statements. There were similar statements by Lambridis too.
Given that both tenders for Egnatia and AIA constitute prior actions for the fourth bailout review, market sources suggest that the minister was attempting to put the blame on the privatizations fund even though the delays or actions were also his own.
