The Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund is on the rush, closing a number of open fronts in September.

ATTICA ROAD

The first appointment of the month is that of the signing of the Attiki Odos concession contract later this week. Dimitris Politis, the CEO of the HRADF, revealed this at the TIF. As he said, the Hellenic Property Fund and all parties involved have rushed the relevant procedures at high speed in order to pave the way for the signing of the 25-year concession contract of Attiki Odos to GEK Terna, which had emerged as the preferred investor with an offer of €3.27 billion. Under this contract, the company will undertake the financing, operation, maintenance and exploitation of Attiki Odos. It is noted that the existing concession expires on 6 October and the aim is to ensure that there is no gap between the two concessions, with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport clarifying that in any case, upon expiry of the current contract, Attiki Odos will return to the state. 

The ministry has noted that the handover of the motorway to the state will take place as normal with the expiry of the concession contract in early October. According to Politis, "on the date of the handover, the operation should not be disrupted for the consumer."

It is noted that after the signing of the concession contract, it will have to pass through Parliament in order for the new concession to be completed before the end of the year and the €3.2 billion consideration to be transferred to the public.

HERAKLION AIRPORT

Politis also said that the financial closing of the sale of 67% of the port of Heraklion is scheduled for 18 September. It is recalled that during the summer, the draft law of the Ministry of Shipping and Island Policy passed the Parliament, giving the green light for the transactions provided for in the Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) between OLI S.A. and the Heraklion Port Holding Company to proceed and be completed and for the €80 million for the concession of 67% to be disbursed to TAPED and the State. Additionally, Mr. Politis stated that 50% of the total price that the public sector will receive will go toward financing additional port projects.

Speaking about the progress of the concession of the Egnatia Road, Politis said that apart from the upgrading of many parts of the road, which is over 700 km, the concessionaire's obligations will include the construction of 4 vertical axes. The Parliament must give the go-ahead for the following steps, and the relevant ratification law must contain clarifying provisions with regard to the regulation of details. He attributed the delays in the completion of this major project to this. According to the CEO of the Hellenic Fund, the financial closure is not expected to be completed this year and the initial price will be set when the procedures are close to financial closure.

DEVELOPMENTS FOR THESSALONIKI PORT

The Ministry of Shipping and Island Policy simultaneously submitted to the Parliament the draft law for the ratification of the amendment to the "Concession Agreement for the Use and Exploitation of Certain Sites and Assets within the Port of Thessaloniki" between the Greek State and PPA. In this context, the extension of certain critical deadlines is foreseen, after which the evaluation of the investor's performance in terms of the implementation of his investment would follow.