Infrastructure Ministry

The Infrastructure Ministry is promising drivers that, as of this fall, they will be able to drive on all Greek highways using a single electronic device for tolls. By the end of the summer, all the main technical issues for the interoperability of all operating companies' systems are expected to have been resolved.

Compensation for highway concessions is back on the agenda. One after another the selected contractors are filing notifications of the huge decline in toll revenues at the Infrastructure Ministry, triggering the procedure to calculate compensation for their contracts.

Highway traffic has dropped considerably in the last few days as a result of the shuttering of schools and businesses and citizens choosing to stay at home to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Drivers or companies deemed responsible for blocking traffic on a national highway will be penalized with fines that could reach up to 1 million euros, according to new rules introduced by the Infrastructure and Transport Ministry.

In the wake of last week's public uproar over the traffic disruption caused by the shutdown of a section of the Athens-Lamia national highway due to heavy snowfall, the Infrastructure Ministry is currently drafting legislation which seeks to ensure that the process of sanctioning those accountable for failing to adequately perform their duties is expedited.

Greek privatization fund TAIPED is sticking to its 2.4-billion-euro target for revenues from state asset utilization next year, but the Infrastructure Ministry announced on Wednesday that the submission of offers for Egnatia Odos will be postponed by four months.

In the wake of Tuesday's traffic mayhem in Athens as a result of a metro strike decided at the 11th hour with the participation of a handful of workers, the Infrastructure Ministry is drawing up a provision that stipulates there should be adequate staff available to ensure that a minimum of scheduled services on the public transport network take place before a strike can be called.

The Infrastructure Ministry has ruled out the funding of any extension of the Attica ring road (Attiki Odos) through the extension of the current concession contract, as the operating consortium wants.

The ministry argues that any project related to the privately run highway will be included in the tender concerning the period after the expiry of the existing contract.

For construction conglomerate Ellaktor, a rise in the tolls of the Attiki Odos ring road around Athens is crucial if it is to restructure a significant bank loan on more favorable terms.

Athens was jolted on Friday by a tremor measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale which, due to its shallow depth between 12 and 15 kilometers, was felt quite intensely by residents in the Greek capital and visitors.

Nonetheless, there were no reports of serious damages or injuries from the earthquake, whose epicenter was some 3 kilometers from the town of Magoula in western Attica.