Local communities are setting up a referendum

Aeginio is “resurrected” while the Government had the Malgara solution ready
 
Local bodies and citizens all over the country are intending to set back the wave of new toll fares, even by means of a referendum; at the same time, the Government promises new legislative highway regulations and renegotiation of the contracts to mitigate the toll cost.

Government members say that the toll decrease can come through the clipping of State revenue, which in some contracts is up to 90% from tolls, and estimate that in the next 30yrs the State Funds could receive even 15 million euros less than the 30 expected.  

But this is a painful solution for the Memorandum era and an extremely complicated one, as there are 2 contracts (Central Greece axis and Korinthos-Tripoli-Kalamata) where due to low traffic, if needs be, the State will have to support the citizens and not “drink their blood”.

The contractors’ reaction

The companies who undertook these projects insist that for the time being, when banks are looking to secure the money lent to the contractors and the traffic is at a constant drop (up to 23% according to the Ministry) completely reversing the financial models, one cannot talk about lowering the toll fares.

«At the Korinthos-Patra highway, 30 to 32% of financing the project comes from the tolls. If part of this amount is lost, there will have to be another way to cover the loss» says a member of «Olympia Odos» not hiding the fact that if an adjustment is made the lending terms must change. Let’s not forget that these contracts were made at a prosperous era in 2007, when spreads were low. If a renegotiation occurs, as the Ministry insists, in order to calculate the new data with the changes in the contracts, time loss due to expropriations, serious lack of country road network etc, it is a certainty that terms will change and the cost for the technical companies will rise.

Aeginio at the forefront again

Yesterday morning, approximately 800 citizens in NE Attica gathered at the Afidnes/Malakassa toll station for a symbolic siege of «Nea Odos» offices. They ask to stop paying 3,50 euros every time they leave and maintain that the new Kallekratian Oropos municipality is crucially affected, with no less than 8 stations.

The short-circuit at the Ministry of Infrastructure from the massive response of local communities to the cost of the highways, leads to frivolous moves and brings out the intense background activity behind the new stations. Most characteristic is the case of Malgara station where the Government, without getting the approval of the concessionaire, has split the revenue in order to level the loss of «Aegean Motorway» consortium for not operating the station in Aeginio.  

Minister Dimitris Reppas has recently announced that the 40% increase (from 2 euros to 2,80) is due to the price index adjustment not done in the past 7 years and the attempt to «level» the loss from nullifying the Aeginio station. But at the same time, Government members confirm that they are in negotiations with the consortium to open the station, blaming the turn in the case to the pressure from the banks.

According to sources, the contractors are quite angry with the government, consider that the loss from Aeginio is not covered by splitting the Malgara revenue and demand a solution at once. With this in mind, thoughts exist about opening the station. The question is how the Government will announce it to the citizens since the reactions of the local community are still very strong.

Residents and bodies from Pieria are preparing a referendum on the tolls aiming at the collective refusal to pay the fares, something that the vice district commissioner and local authorities have agreed with. Everything seems to show that the Government will not avert a massive «I am not getting paid» movement, while contractors demand millions in compensation from the State for loss of profits.