VINCI signs contract for Athens–Tsakona motorway concession

24 July 2007 - New contracts - Greece

The Apion Kleos consortium, led by VINCI with 36%, today signed the contract with the Greek government for the Athens-Tsakona motorway, the country’s biggest motorway concession project. The other members of the consortium are Hochtief of Germany (25%) and three Greek companies, namely Elliniki Technodomiki-Aktor (18%), J&P-Avax (18%) and Athena (3%).

The project calls for the financing, design, construction and/or repair of 365 km of toll motorway between Athens and Tsakona in the south-west of the Peloponnese, via Corinth and Patras. This breaks down into 82 km of existing motorway, 120 km to repair and widen, and 163 km to build. The project also calls for operating the motorway for 30 years.

Since being announced preferred bidder in May 2007, the VINCI-led consortium has finalised the contract and prepared its financing. In addition to an initial subsidy from the Greek government and revenue from existing traffic, the financing package consists of three tranches totalling 1,685 million euros, i.e. 1,210 million euros of senior debt, 400 million euros from refinancing the government subsidy and 75 million euros of standby debt. This financing was entirely subscribed by the following lead banks: Alpha Bank, Calyon, Millennium bcp and Natixis.

With this contract, VINCI will eventually be operating three motorway concessions in Greece totalling about 600 km for 30 years or more. Apart from Athens-Tsakona, VINCI is lead company on the Rion-Antirion bridge, which was opened to traffic almost three years ago, and is participating in the Maliakos-Kleidi motorway in the northern part of the Athens-Thessalonica corridor. The latter project is to be ratified by the Greek parliament this week and is expected to come into force in November 2007.

The success and synergies expected from these three projects will give VINCI a stronger long-term presence in Greece, where the public-private partnership (PPP) culture is now well established and where there remain significant infrastructure needs.

 

About VINCI
VINCI is a global player in concessions, energy and construction, employing 280,000 people in more than 120 countries. We design, finance, build and operate infrastructure and facilities that help improve daily life and mobility for all. Because we believe in all-round performance, we are committed to operating in an environmentally, socially responsible and ethical manner. And because our projects are in the public interest, we consider that reaching out to all our stakeholders and engaging in dialogue with them is essential in the conduct of our business activities. Based on that approach, VINCI’s ambition is to create long-term value for its customers, shareholders, employees, partners and society in general.