By Nektaria Stamouli
Greece's development minister said Friday that the construction
of four mega highway projects will resume in the next few weeks,
after having stalled for more than two years due to the country's
financial crisis.
"The restart of the four highways symbolizes the restarting of
the Greek economy," Kostis Hatzidakis told reporters, adding that
some 25,000 new jobs will be created.
Back in 2007, Greece signed concessions with both local and
foreign investors, including Germany's Hochtief AG (HOT.XE),
France's Vinci SA (DG.FR) and Spain's Ferrovial SA (FER.MC) to
build the four highways, in mainland Greece and the Peloponnese.
But, the country's financial crisis stalled the projects as the
government cut back on infrastructure spending to meet budget
targets and the reluctance of local banks to lend.
But, in December Greece's euro-zone creditors and the
International Monetary Fund agreed to unlock some 50 billion euros
($65.4 billion) worth of aid to the country, to help jumpstart the
economy and recapitalize the banking sector.
Now, after months of negotiations, Mr. Hatzidakis announced that
the government had reached a financial settlement with the
contractors in order to unfreeze the country's biggest
infrastructure project.
"After tough negotiations and several months of efforts, we
reached an agreement with the concessionaires," Mr. Hatzdakis said.
"The agreement is that the projects will start immediately before
Easter [May 5], without any delays."
Write to Nektaria Stamouli at nektaria.stamouli@dowjones.com