A consortium of Greek construction companies, Atese and Domiki Kritis, has closed the financing of a PPP project for the construction of 14 public schools in seven municipalities of Attica.

The winning consortium beat out competition from other five teams that were shortlisted. Those teams were composed by local construction companies and European developers such as Hochtief and Interserve.

The team has closed funding for a value of €58 million (US$80.3 million) for the project. McBains Cooper was appointed as Lenders' Technical Advisors by Emporiki Bank of Greece S.A. and the European Investment Bank.

The construction and technical management of the project will be financed in the context of the European community's JESSICA programme (Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas) that supports sustainable urban development and regeneration through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs).

The National Bank of Greece manages a total of €83 million euros in JESSICA funds and will co-finance the projects with roughly €36 million (US$49.8 million).

The school buildings will be located in seven Attica municipalities, namely, Athineon, Iliou, Kropia, Pallini-Gerakas, Keratsini-Drapetsona, Peristeri and Penteli) with a total population of 1.1 million people. The schools under construction will have a capacity of 3,500 students.

This financial close marks the reopening of the Greek PPP market. The last PPP project closed in Greece was the  the design, construction and maintenance of seven (7) new fire stations which start operation in January 2014 and reached financial closed in April 2009.