The Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Mr. Nikos Tachiaos, spoke at the 7th Infrastructure and Transport Conference – ITC 2024, which is taking place country on September 17 and 18 at the Athens Concert Hall – International Conference Center.

As he clarified, the final decision has not been taken, but the solution to the amendment of the existing concession agreement is also under discussion, based on the recent opinion of the Legal Council of the State. According to this, an extension of the concession is possible, but it is a matter of negotiation with the interested party.

“The operation of the Attica Road as we know it, i.e. with tolls, in addition to revenue, regulates the demand for movement within the city, so that it is sustainable. This means that we cannot leave Attiki Odos without operation after October 5, when the existing contract expires”, explained Mr. Tachiaos, attributing the lack of timing to the difficulty of the simultaneous transition from the outgoing concessionaire to the State, from the State to TAIPED and from the latter to the new concessionaire.

He made it clear that the new concession should be finalized by 12/02/2025, at which point the five-month adjustment period foreseen by the contract, both for the transition and for the payment of the price, is completed. “Obviously the upcoming concession holder knows that in the five months he committed to, he will complete it, as he has experience from his participation in other concessions”, commented Mr. Tachiaos.

“The development depends not only on the State, but also on the outgoing and the new concession holder. We have two adults in the room,” he pointed out, pointing meaningfully at the representatives of “Attiki Odos SA” and “Nea Attiki Odos SA”, who participated in the same panel as him.

Proceeding to a broader commentary of what had been heard earlier in the conference, Mr. Tachiaos emphasized that the projects are not an end in themselves but have a reflection on the citizens and on them the government’s plans are focused.

Furthermore, the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure announced that within the next month the new regulations will go to the Parliament that will pave the way for the standard proposals, which he pointed out characteristically that “they are not totems”. He also noted that the changes will resolve issues, such as compatibility with Community Law, that were not tested when they were introduced to the Greek reality.

Mr. Tachiaos clarified that national participation in new concession projects is very difficult, given the country’s fiscal goals. “That doesn’t mean we don’t talk about them. But we cannot forget that concession projects transfer to the user a – often large – part of the cost. We must first see the standard proposals and then we will discuss if, when and under what conditions public participation will be paid,” he said.

But he brought into the equation the issue of educating users that some things have to be paid for, stressing however that this also needs discussion. He reiterated that the PPP tool has also “capped”, as well as availability payments have a limit as a percentage of GDP, which is not infinite. “Undertakings that transfer to future generations a burden that we are not sure they can bear are not acceptable in the first place”, added Mr. Tachiaos, concluding that “we must be honest and the real reform in Greece is to look the Greek in the eye and you tell him the truth”.