Panhellenic Association receives “numerous and intense protests” from its member companies Technical Companiesthat during the period of the last three months many project accounts QREN remain unpaid, especially in the case of small and medium budget projects.
In the letter to the deputy Minister of National Economy and Finance, Nikos PapathanasisTechnical companies explain that the situation is more difficult in projects financed by the PDE, as the problem of non-payment of bills has continued since the previous year.
According to the association, the projects in question – with accounts in arrears for several months – were tenders from regions and municipalities, that is, they are projects that are presumed to be carried out by medium and small construction companies that are its members.
“At the same time, there is great disruption to contracting companies that, although they have been selected as contractors for projects that were expected to be contracted, are informed that the possibility of their financing is ruled out due to their exclusion from QREN.
The reaction of our associates is similar when they find a discrepancy between the public positions of the ministry’s political leadership and the reality that exists regarding the non-inclusion of ongoing projects in the new QREN”, highlight the technical companies.
With data, as they note, that:
(a) contracting companies are already in a difficult financial situation due to the excessive increase in the prices of building materials, labour and energy, which have been continuously observed in recent years,
b) have not yet received the statutory review from the 1st quarter of 2022, which would compensate for these very high increases in the construction costs of the projects;
“Most technical companies face – through no fault of their own – the possibility of not being able to meet the financial obligations they have assumed, of not being able to pay the insurance contributions of their employees and partners, as well as the fees of their suppliers, etc., compromising both the smooth running of the construction of the projects and the viability of their companies.
Given that bank financing for companies of this size is essentially closed – despite assurances to the contrary in various forums and speeches by both representatives of the banking industry and the ministry’s political leadership – the risk of projects being permanently stalled is real and not theoretical.
Our member companies are never informed that they will not be paid according to approved project schedules and therefore cannot subsequently incorporate such a contingency into their business planning.
We ask for an immediate and definitive resolution to this serious problem and the possibility of our meeting to obtain better information”, concludes the Panhellenic Association of Technical Companies.