Highway tolls to rise over 40 pct
Less than two weeks after heralding a construction blitz to radically boost the national road network, Public Works Minister Giorgos Souflias yesterday ordered the cost of highway tolls to be increased by over 40 percent, from next month. The increases are set to start on April 10 – before the Easter holidays, the busiest time of the year on Greek roads. Cars will be charged 2 euros at each toll, as opposed to the current cost of 1.40 euros, on the vast majority of national roads. One of the few exceptions will be the Corinth-to-Patras section, where drivers will be charged up to 2.50 euros. A return journey from Athens to Thessaloniki will cost 18 euros in tolls – an average of less than 0.02 euros per kilometer and much cheaper than other EU countries, such as Spain and Ireland, the Public Works Ministry said. The increases will not affect the privately-run Attiki Odos highway in Attica. Toll charges had remained unchanged since 1996 and the imminent rise was virtually in line with the rate of inflation since then, the ministry argued. It said the cost of maintaining the national road network made an increase in toll costs necessary. A ministry source conceded that the toll hikes were a «painful and politically costly» decision but claimed they were absolutely necessary, especially with the imminent round of major road construction in mind. On March 10, Souflias announced plans to privatise Greek highways. The ministry will launch tenders for 761 kilometers of new highways, to be built over the next five years. But the state will only have to contribute 2 billion euros, half of which will derive from EU subsidies, to the 7-billion-euro budget. The toll revenues – some 150 million euros a year – will be handed over for 30 years to private contractors, together with responsibility for road maintenance.
