2.5-bln-euro projects in pipeline
Investors will fund -2.5 billion of government projects, including hospitals and schools, through the state’s Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) program, Finance Minister Giorgos Alogoskoufis said yesterday. After meeting with Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, Alogoskoufis said that PPP schemes will help speed up needed improvements to the country’s infrastructure. «These projects could not have moved ahead with the state investment program as there were no funds available. Additionally, the technical know-how for these projects was also missing,» Alogoskoufis told reporters. «It is not just their construction but also their maintenance over a period of many years. We are moving ahead with improving facilities at a faster rate than we could have otherwise achieved,» he added. The PPP initiative awards the construction of state buildings to private companies which later recover their fees on an annual basis while the state uses the building over a 25-year period. The scheme could be extended to other areas such as the running of hospitals, according to government sources. Economists believe that PPP projects are seen as having a positive effect on the quality of work, the time taken to complete the projects and employment in the sector – considered crucial to the economy. Earlier this month, a joint-ministerial committee approved the inclusion of 11 projects in the scheme with a budget of -1.6 billion. Projects include the construction and maintenance of three new hospitals in Preveza and Thessaloniki, 11 new buildings for police services and 23 new school buildings across Greece. Buildings for the region of Epirus and prefectures of Fthiotida, Achaia, Trikala and Corinth have also been approved. The new sites are seen helping to solve accommodation problems for state services while also replacing leased buildings with improved facilities. Last year PPP projects worth -800 million were given the green light and are gradually being implemented. «We will move ahead with decisions on other projects, such as waste management, for which we have already received certain proposals, and for other large state schemes of value to the community,» the minister added. According to sources, new construction projects are expected to be soon included in the scheme. In September, PPP contracts are expected to be announced relating to the construction of seven new buildings for the Peloponnese University worth -84 million. Meanwhile, toward the end of the year, most likely in November, a proclamation for the construction of 31 school buildings in Macedonia, northern Greece, will take place, a government source added.
