Opened in August, the Rio-Antirio Bridge is the longest cable bridge in the world, extending for 1.4 miles

Package of projects reflects New Democracy administration’s pledge to bring development to the Greek regions

ONSTRAINTS on public spending have led Greece to turn to public-private partnerships for a number of projects in the run up to the Olympics, and the trend can be expected to continue as development of the country’s infrastructure continues in the future.

According to Georgios Souflias, Minister of Environment, Town Planning, and Public Works, Greece is entering a “new era” for public works. The Minister has announced that the method of building public works projects through concession contracts will be extended to many more projects in the near future, so that they are constructed promptly and with little financial participation on the part of the public sector.

Three of the largest such projects of recent years—all now successfully completed and in operation—have been the new Athens international airport, the Rio-Antirio Bridge, and the Attiki Odos highway.

The airport, Eleftherios Venizelos, opened in 2001 after five years of construction at a total cost of around 2.1 billion euros ($2.7 billion). One of the most modern airports in the world, boasting state-of-the-art equipment and technology, and capable of handling up to 16 million passengers a year, Eleftherios Venizelos is serving both as a national and southeastern European hub.

The owner and operator is Athens International Airport, which was responsible for all aspects of the project, from design to implementation. The Greek state holds the majority 55% stake in the company, and the rest is held by a private, international business consortium led by Hochtief, the German construction group.

Connecting the airport to Athens is the Attiki Odos highway. The 38-mile long external ring road was officially finished in June. Greece’s first self-financed highway is managed by the Attiki Odos, a consortium of Greek construction companies led by the Aktor group, which built the road as a build-operate-transfer project with a 25-year operating concession.

The final section of the 780 million euros ($1 billion) Rio-Antirio Bridge, linking the Peloponnese with the Greek mainland, was officially opened in August. At more than 1.4 miles, it is the longest cable bridge in the world. It was built by the Franco-Greek consortium Gefyra, which is responsible for the maintenance and operation of the bridge until December 2039.

Athanasios Kouloumbis, Secretary General of Public Works, says the focus for the future will continue to be on public-private-partnerships. “Funds coming from the EU are going to be less and less every year, but the economic growth that we have due to the growth in infrastructure has to continue,” he notes.

ATHANASIOS KOULOUMBIS Secretary General of Public Works

“We have to find new ways to continue to keep up investment in infrastructure, particularly for the tourist industry. If you want to promote tourism, you need infrastructure.”

Mr. Kouloumbis says there is a need for a series of smaller projects to be carried out over the next 10 to 15 years. He quotes the need for airports in the north and south of Greece and for water supply facilities in various Greek towns and cities. “These are projects that should happen frequently and should not take years to complete.”

Minister Souflias recently announced a series of projects—worth 2.6 billion euros ($3.4 billion)—to be auctioned up to February 2005. The large majority of the projects are benefit regional Greece. “Our priority is the regions,” he said.

They include extending a runway at the Macedonia airport in Thessaloniki, completion of a dam in the Aheloos river, works on the Egnatia Road, and extending the Athens Metro.