Athens to launch tender for major toll road
Athens will launch a tender for the long-term lease of a major toll road by the end of September, a senior official of Greece’s privatization agency (TAIPED) said on Thursday, to unlock the country’s next tranche of bailout loans.
Along with other reforms, Greece needs to sell rights to the 670-kilometer Egnatia toll road for 35 years to pass a first progress review by the European Union and International Monetary Fund and receive another 2.8 billion euros of a bailout that could ultimately total 86 billion euros.
“The decision was taken today by [TAIPED’s] board. The launch of the tender and the timetable will be announced by September 30,” the official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
The Egnatia Highway is a major trade route in the Balkans, linking Igoumenitsa port in eastern Greece to the Greek-Turkish border in the west. The official gave no indication of how much Athens hopes to raise from the tender. Independent valuers will provide an estimate before binding bids are assessed.
[Reuters]
