GEK TERNA: “lock” three new major concession contracts – The benefits of the Attic Road

The largest investor in projects and PPPs, managing more than 1,600 km of major highways, with its addition and Attica Road, is the GEK TERNA group. A few weeks after he emerged as a temporary contractor in the tender for the BOAK concession contract, for which the deadline for submitting appeals by competitors also expired, and only a few days after the signing of the contract, with TAIPED, for granting the Egnatia Road, yesterday, came the “cheese in cake”. The St.E. rejected the initiative of Vinci – Mytilineos against the competition for the new 25-year concession agreement of Attica Road, thus opening the way for GEK TERNA to “lock” this “gold” infrastructure. It is recalled that her offer was at 3.27 billion euros, a little larger than that of the Vinci-Mytilineos (3,106 billion euros) who appealed to the courts, but without being justified. With these 3 road concession contracts, and with emblematic projects corresponding to billions of euros investments, such as the new International Airport of Heraklion Crete, the Integrated Tourism Complex in Greece, the Hersonissos – Neapolis section of the Northern Road Axis of Crete (BOAK), the Integrated Waste Management in the Regions of Epirus and Peloponnese, etc., the GEK TERNA Group is the largest investor in the country with projects of almost 10 billion euros and undoubtedly the sovereign of major infrastructure. The motorway portfolio of the GEK TERNA group is one of the largest and ‘youngest’ in Europe, with an average remaining contractual duration of 25 years, ensuring a long-term horizon of significant, predictable and repeated returns. In fact, the group allegedly expects more than EUR 10-11 billion of distribution contracts during the lifetime of the contracts. Regarding the Attic Road, the completion of the contractual documents is pending, while GEK TERNA has completed the financing procedures by “closing” a €2.7 billion syndicated loan with systemic banks. Obviously, the contract should be ‘passed’ by the Court of Auditors and the House, and the public must take its own actions to achieve the smooth change of the concessionaire, by the ACTORs. Concessions – Avax now, to GEK TERNA next October 2024. The project is already in operation, while its heavy maintenance will be completed on the date of transfer to GEK TERNA. Traffic data for the last 20 years, combined with the concession contract forecasts, show that this project can cope effectively with difficult situations, classifying it among them at the lowest risk. The group expects in-depth years at an average annual operating profitability of EUR 300 million for the 25 years of the contract.