Greek highways are too expensive

Greek highways are very expensive and poorly planned, according to a report by the European Court of Auditors on public-private partnerships (PPPs) and concession contracts, concluding that new PPPs should not be encouraged in cases where problems remain unsolved.

The report revealed that the E65 Central Greece Motorway cost 20.2 million euros per kilometer, while the national road from Elefsina to Patra cost 13 million euros/km and the highway from Corinth to Kalamata and its offshoot from Lefktro to Sparti cost 8.7 million euros/km.

In total, the cost of the three road projects increased by up to 69 percent, while their objective was reduced by 55 percent, not only due to the economic crisis but also because of poor planning.

The report stated that in the funding period from 2000 to 2014 eight PPPs were subsidized by the European Union at a total cost of 6.8 billion euros. Greece received the highest subsidy rate in the bloc for these projects, amounting to 58.5 percent or 3.3 billion euros. Notably, the country with the highest number of PPPs, (France, with 21 projects) spent 9.8 billion euros and only received 324 million euros in funding from Brussels.