For the benefits arising from your new Concession Agreement Attic Road the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport spoke, Christos Staikourasin the Plenary Session of Parliament.
“It is the first time in Greece that we have a change of Concessionaire on a motorway in operation”, emphasized Mr. Staikouras, referring to an extremely difficult, complicated and unprecedented project.
The Minister of Infrastructure and Transport highlighted that the Greek State will collect, tomorrow, 3.27 billion euros, the highest amount ever raised through the use of TAIPED assets, while the cumulative benefit reaches 7 billion euros over a period of 25 years.
From Sunday, October 6th, the price of tolls will be reduced from 2.8 euros to 2.5 euros, and for the first time, a permanent exemption from paying tolls will be imposed for private passenger vehicles belonging to people disabled and war disabled.
The 10 benefits
In detail, the minister cited the 10 benefits of the new contract:
1. The Greek State will collect 3.27 billion euros tomorrow, an amount that is the highest in the history of the use of assets that were transferred to TAIPED. This amount increases the State’s total resources, reduces the general financial needs of Public Administrations by the same amount, reduces the amount of public debt by 1.5 points of GDP, while significantly improving its sustainability. indicators.
2. In addition to paying the single financial price, the Concessionaire will annually pay TAIPED a fee of at least 7.5% on all types of revenue arising from the operation of the highway. It should be remembered that the Annual Concession Fee, based on the new contract, started to be calculated on the new Concessionaire’s turnover, while in the old concession contract it was calculated on the net profit, that is, on a lower calculation basis . Therefore, from the one-off payment of the price, but also the annual returns, as well as the benefit resulting from the interest that the Greek State will not have to pay for a corresponding loan of the same duration, it is expected – based on ODDIX estimates – that the cumulative benefit is more than double the value of the single price, reaching up to 7 billion euros over a 25-year horizon, correspondingly increasing the fiscal space for the exercise of our development and social policy.
3. The Agreement in the process of ratification provides for an immediate reduction in tolls, from 2.8 to 2.5 euros, from next Sunday, October 6th, that is, from the day on which the motorway is delivered by the Greek State to the new Concessionaire. As part of the competition, a traffic study was prepared, which calculated the traffic loads and arrived at the proposed values. For the toll adjustment after five years, where the average price obviously remains constant, substantial conditions apply on behalf of the new Concessionaire:
-
- The adjustment is linked to specific measurable indicators of traffic load, which must be adequately documented by the new Concessionaire.
- There will be an inspection by the Independent Engineer.
- State approval is required.
- And if considered necessary, there must be notification and preventive control by the European Commission.
4. The Ministry, in collaboration with the new Concessionaire, as confirmed to the Commission, guaranteed the continuation of workers on the highway, ensuring that not a single job was lost. Thus, employees will receive their legal compensation for the termination of the employment relationship with “ATTIKI ODO SA” and “ATTIKES DIADROMES SA”, and at the same time the new Concessionaire expressed its intention to replace its jobs for the new Project, for anyone who wants it.
5. The Convention currently being ratified provides for a permanent exemption from the payment of tolls on passenger vehicles for private use that are wholly owned by persons with disabilities and persons with severe war disabilities. This is obviously a positive provision, for the first time in force in Attiki Odos, which was recognized, in a letter, by the National Confederation of People with Disabilities. Furthermore, in consultation with the new Concessionaire, people with disabilities are exempt from paying tolls, even if the vehicle used for their transport is not wholly owned by them. The same applies to vans for disabled people, institutional and non-institutional.
6. During the concession, the new Concessionaire will implement investments and update and modernization costs estimated at 380 million euros. Their implementation will be evaluated, every two years, based on specific performance indicators (KPIs), something that was not included in the previous Convention. In case of non-compliance with the objectives, financial and other sanctions are foreseen, depending on the gap in expected performance.
7. Based on the ratified Agreement, the new Concessionaire is not entitled to any additional consideration or monetary compensation, if the Greek State, in the context of the exercise of its right arising therefrom, but also its policy in general, including the fiscal policy of , cause changes in the choice of means of transport, changes in the size and/or composition of traffic, in its statistical characteristics and in its evolution over time.
8. The ratified Convention confirms that also in Greece the cooperation of the public and private sectors can be mutually beneficial for both parties. In a framework that serves, on the one hand, the public interest through the financing, operation and maintenance of the highway and, on the other hand, covers the private operator, through its operation.
9. With the Convention in the ratification phase, the aim is to:
-
- promoting the continuous and safe movement of people,
- faster and more efficient transportation of goods,
- meet current and future transportation demand, and
- strengthening the smooth functioning of the road traffic system in the Attica basin, an integral and necessary part of which Attiki Odos has been for more than two decades.
10. Lastly, but especially important, the new Concession Agreement seeks to improve road safety.