Greek government seeking interest in US$1.6 billion road projects in Crete

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Greek government seeking interest in US$1.6 billion road projects in Crete

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The General Secretariat for Infrastructure of the Greek government has published Requests for Expressions of Interest (RFEOI) for two road projects in Crete, the largest and most populous of the Greek islands. The combined estimated investment of the projects is EUR1.4 billion (US$1.62 billion).

Both RFEOIs concern the Northern Road Axis of Crete (VOAK), a planned 200km highway that will run along the north coast of Crete. VOAK connects four major port cities (Chania, Rethymno, Heraklion and Agios Nikolaos), two existing airports (Heraklio, Chania) and one currently under construction (Kasteli).

The General Secretariat for Infrastructure is tendering a 25-year concession contract for the design, construction, financing, operation, maintenance and exploitation of the VOAK section between Chania and Heraklion, around 140km long, and a 30-year PPP contract to design, construct, finance, operate and maintain the 26km section that links Hersonissos to Neapolis.

The total investment required for the concession is estimated at around EUR1.1 billion (US$1.27 billion), while the Secretariat has given an estimation of EUR290 million (US$335.7 million) for the PPP.

The remaining section of VOAK (Neapolis-Agios Nikolaos, 14km) is currently planned to be constructed under a public contract. However, the Chania-Heraklion RFEOI includes an option to be further specified in the proposal phase of the tender process to design, construct, finance, operate, maintain and exploit the other sections. 

If this is not taken up by any bidders, the operation and maintenance of this last section may be undertaken by the winner of the Hersonissos-Neapolis PPP project, as this option is also outlined in the RFEOI.

The deadline to respond to both RFEOIs is 6 August 2018. For more information, see the Business Opportunities section of our website.

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