Government: Renegotiations with motorway concession holders

The negotiations underway between the ministry of infrastructures, the 19 contractor companies of the five major motorways and the 26 banks financing them will be completed by the end of March, hopefully leading to the solution of problems that have emerged, including tolls, Deputy Transport Minister Yiannis Magriotis said on Wednesday. 

 

He made the comment in response to growing popular protests against toll fees and following the arrest of Stylida Mayor Apostolos Gletsos -- a well-known television actor -- on Tuesday, after the latter ordered the opening of an access road parallel to the Athens-Lamia national highway near the Pelasgia toll station in central Greece. 

 

On Monday, the Stylida mayor used the municipality's heavy machinery to tear down the bars on the sides of the Pelasgia toll station and create a parallel access road that local residents could use to travel to the rest of the municipality without paying tolls. 

 

Magriotis acknowledged that local residents in Stylida are right to protest and stated that among the issues under negotiation with the concession holders is a freeze on toll fees for the next 30 years, adding that technical issues and contractual errors are also under negotiation. 

 

Last weekend saw grass-roots protests throughout Greece over the hikes in tolls announced by concession holders, especially in areas where residents were not provided alternative local access roads.




ANA