Greece sets lowers tolls in renewed Athens ring road concession
25/11/2022 16:08
ATHENS, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Greece will lower tolls for
the use of a major ring road in Athens in a renewed concession
agreement after 2024, as part of efforts to alleviate the
pressure on drivers facing rising living costs, its
infrastructure minister said on Friday.
Greek construction groups Ellaktor HELr.AT and Avax
AVAr.AT now operate the Attica Motorway, a 70-km (44-mile)
road bypassing a usually congested Athens centre.
The country has shortlisted eight investors, including Vinci
and Macquarie, as part of a tender to extend the contract for
another 25 years after it expires in 2024.
Τhe process will wrap up with the submission of binding bids
for which the deadline is still unspecified.
Following a decision by the infrastructure ministry, the
binding bids should be based on the assumption that users will
be charged 2.5 euros ($2.60) per vehicle, Greek Infrastructure
Minister Kostas Karamanlis said in a statement on Friday.
Under the current contract, drivers are paying a single
charge of 2.8 euros for all routes once they enter the highway.
($1 = 0.9608 euros)
(Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou, Editing by Louise Heavens)
((angeliki.koutantou@thomsonreuters.com; +30 2102214608;
Reuters Messaging: angeliki.koutantou.reuters.com@reuters.net))