Egnatia Odos: waiting for the Council of State’s ruling for the tender to go through

Another episode is expected to be played today in the highly acclaimed Egnatia Odos concession tender. After the opening of the offers on April 1, which finally highlighted the participation of 2 schemes, the appeal came from AKTOR as it could not make an offer.

Then came AKTOR’s appeal to the CoC to be able to stop the process in the form of precautionary measures and these are scheduled to be discussed unexpectedly today. If accepted the competition will be frozen once again, if not then the process proceeds relentlessly to completion after years of setbacks.

What has happened so far

The tender for the concession of the largest highway in the country by the HRDH had reached its final stage last autumn and finally on December 11, out of the 7 schemes that initially claimed the concession, only the GEK TERNA scheme with Egis Projects submitted an offer.

Subsequently, there were appeals from the other two schemes, with the result that the HRDH proceeded to repeat the process. The new deadline for submission of bids was set for April 1, 2021.

A few days before the expiration of the date, a problem arises in the form of AKTOR with Roandis, which sends a letter of departure from the group at the end of March. AKTOR will send a request for extension which is not accepted.

This brings us to the 1st of April when two schemes finally submit an offer: 1) VINCI HIGHWAYS S.A.S. – VINCI CONCESSIONS S.A.S. – MYTILINEOS SA – AVAX SA and 2) GEK TERNA SA – EGIS PROJECTS S.A.

This will provoke AKTOR’s reaction with the filing of the precautionary measures mentioned above.

It is worth noting that for some years now AKTOR has undertaken the maintenance and operation of the Egnatia Odos and the vertical axes through tenders and about 1000 people are working for this purpose.

What is granted

The object of the concession is the Egnatia Odos, a road axis, 658 km long, with full access control and a separated road, which has already been built and is in operation. It extends from Igoumenitsa in the Region of Epirus (northwest coast of Greece) to Kipi in the Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace (at the border station with Turkey).

Also, three vertical roads are granted, with a total length of 225 km, which are connections of the Egnatia Odos with the neighboring countries (Albania, Northern Macedonia and Bulgaria).

The shape that the Egnatia Odos will acquire will essentially become the “king” of the country’s road concessions, having the majority of the operating road axes.