Five new competitions through public-private partnership (PPP) announced yesterday about Ministry of Infrastructure. However, the assignment of its maintenance and operation to a private person stands out. Metro Thessalonikias for the first time the management of a transport project will be transferred to a private individual through a partnership.

The project budget is 292 million euros and the contract duration is 12 years. The project includes the maintenance of 18 stations (main line and extension to Kalamaria), tunnels, stations, metro operation, electricity costs and management of the toll system. The contractor will contract with Attico Metro (which will take on a role in the operation of the metro for the first time, since it has been limited to the construction project until now), who will take over the private person’s supervision and management. ticket revenue (possibly from other sources): paying the individual an annual accessibility fee estimated at €37.25 million (€292 million over 12 years) and returning the balance to the state. According to the Ministry of Infrastructure, the state will not need to make contributions from the state budget. It should be noted that the transfer of a transport project to a private party through PPP is a model that will be tested in our country for the first time.

The remaining four PPP projects put up for auction these days are:

• Modernization and maintenance of the Thessaloniki-Edessa road, budget 358.8 million euros. It includes the detours of Giannitsa and Chalcedon, as well as the maintenance of the Axios bridge.

The PPP partnership has launched five new tenders worth €1.2 billion.

• Road axis Drama – Amphipolis. The 43 km project with a budget of 200.4 million euros concerns the construction, operation and maintenance of the modernization of the Drama-Amfipolis national road, either by rehabilitating and widening sections of the existing road, or by constructing completely new sections in the section from Paliokomi to Mavrolefka and from Mavrolefka to Drama .

• Construction of the Enipeia dam at Farsala. The project with a budget of 185.5 million euros includes the construction of a dam with a height of 77 meters and a useful capacity of 115 million cubic meters. As well as irrigation projects (area 107,500 sq.m) and water supply for the city of Farsala and 31 settlements.

• Irrigation works on the river Tavronitis in Chania. The €215.4 million project includes the construction of the Derianu and Sembroniotis dams (tributaries of the Tavronitis) and a connecting tunnel between the two reservoirs.

Minister of Infrastructure Kostas Karamanlis called the choice of PPP a “political choice”. “By issuing PPP tenders for five new projects with a total budget of 1.2 billion euros, we promote innovation, work for development and serve the public interest. The public-private partnership is not only an additional financial instrument for us, but also a conscious political choice of the project implementation strategy.” According to him, a total of 20 PPP projects with a total budget of more than 4 billion euros are being promoted. “Without dogmas and ideologies, we are embarking on the implementation of small and large projects that solve important problems and improve the quality of life of citizens, stimulate the local economy, while at the same time helping to strengthen the national economy,” concluded Mr. Karamanlis.