Roadblocks for two concessions
The government would love to see the money from the concessions of Attiki Odos and Egnatia Highway reach its coffers this year, in order to help pay back part of the country’s debt. Increasingly, this seems unlikely.
The concession of the Egnatia Highway, the west-east route in northern Greece and three access highways, as well as the new deal for Attiki Odos, the ring road that skirts northern Athens and is also a link to the capital’s airport, were supposed to bring in €4.7 billion, well over 1% of the total public debt.
According to the agreement with Greece’s creditors, the money from the concessions is to be used exclusively to pay back the country’s debt. “It will take significant effort and coordination by all interested parties – the state, private operators and several agencies – for these transactions to close by the end of the year,” a government official told Kathimerini.
It is more likely that the money from the renewal of the concession of Attiki Odos will reach state coffers: This is an organized, operating infrastructure where the concession will be transferred from one private operator to the other. But the state still needs to take control of the company before making the transfer itself.
The existing Attica Odos concession belongs to a consortium involving construction groups Ellaktor, Avax and Egis Projects. The concession expires in October: Only then will the consortium transfer ownership to the state which, in turn, will transfer operations to the new concessionaires, the GEK Terna construction group. The latter has said it’s ready to operate the highway from day one and will have no problem paying the required €3.27 billion, as it has found financing. Sources from the Ministry of Finance and the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund have told Kathimerini it is possible that the transaction will be completed by December 20.
GEK Terna is also the concessionaire for the Egnatia Highway and it will have to pay €1.496 billion to take over the operations. The bidding process was concluded in August 2021, but the concession contract was signed last March and has yet to be approved by Parliament. The government plans to hold a vote in September. But it must also approve hikes in tolls.
