HRADF- The tender process is expected to start even in January

HRADF is getting ready for the tender process concerning the new concession of Attiki Odos. It is expected, under the current circumstances, that the tender may start even in January. In any case, the tender is expected to start in the first quarter of 2022, according to the ADP of the Fund. One of the biggest issues, beyond the completion of the existing concession contract, is the so-called urban highway extensions.

At this time, the content of the new concession is being decided, with one of the issues, that were also put on the table in the previous period, being the new extensions. This is one of the final decisions, which is expected to be taken at the beginning of the year, while it is not ruled out that this will be done at the highest level. At the same time, such a decision will inevitably limit the number of the potential stakeholders.

However, according to sources close to the case, which is becoming pressing, as the existing contract expires in 2024, while Attica is already suffocating due to traffic, this scenario does not seem to prevail. Currently, at least, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport seems to be the one to take on the extension project, which is already preparing to launch in early 2022 the extension of Kymis Avenue to PATHE (Patras – Athens – Thessalonica – Evzoni) Highway, amounting to 300 million euros.

No return on profits

What has, meanwhile, locked in for the new competition is that it will not contain the return on profits, i.e. the so-called Internation Rate of Return (IRR). The new tender will follow the model of the other concession contracts with the return being calculated based on the revenue. There is also the thought of strengthening the object of the contract with the heavy maintenance of the axis or with the extension by one lane in the section Metamorfosi-Kifissia, in order to decongest the traffic.

In any case, this is a valuable asset, as only in 2020, Attiki Odos distributed a dividend of 82.6 million euros for 2019, of which a dividend of 30 million in 2020. Respectively, during the fiscal year of 2019, 100,3 million euros were distributed, which concerned the dividend of 2018, amounting to 60.3 million euros, and the interim dividend of 2019, amounting to 40 million euros.

It is recalled that during this year’s Thessaloniki International Fair, the CEO of HRADF, Mr. Dimitris Politis, had predicted that the financial consideration of this concession will break all records of privatizations. In fact, he did not hesitate to state that it may surpass the large offer achieved by PPC for 49% of HEDNO, totaling 2.1 billion euros, 1.3 billion of which will enter the PPC funds.