The Athens Ringroad

Abstract

On March 6, 2000, the finance documents and project contracts for the Athens Ringroad were signed after almost three years of complex negotiations among the Greek State, the concession company, a bank syndicate, and the European Investment Bank. Among the hurdles were the need to separate financing for different road sections, to develop a mechanism of releasing bank guarantees, and to structure risk-allocation and inter-creditor relationships among the project participants. There was little precedent for such a project financing in Greece despite recent, significant state-sponsored infrastructure development.