Egis to Operate the 883 km Egnatia Odos (A2/E90) in Greece

April 24, 2024

On March 29, 2024, the Greek company “NEA EGNATIA ODOS PARACHORISI SOCIETE ANONYME” comprising of GEK TERNA S.A. and Egis Projects S.A. signed the concession contract for the Egnatia Odos freeway (A2/E90), the largest PPP (public-private partnership) ever signed by Egis. The entire newly-concessioned motorway network is almost 900 km long. The 35-year concession includes a major 5-year program of roadworks and equipment upgrades.

Egis thus strengthens its operating activities in Greece and the Mediterranean basin, including the Athens ring road (Attiki Odos), the Thessaloniki automatic metro, the Gebze-Izmir freeway in Türkiye and the Larnaca and Pafos airports in Cyprus.

The Egis-Gek Terna partnership

Nea Egnatia Odos Parachorisi, the concession company, is 75% owned by Gek Terna and 25% by Egis. The operating company Nea Egnatia Odos Leitourgia is owned 75% by Egis and 25% by Gek Terna. The banks Piraeus Bank, Eurobank, National Bank of Greece and Alpha Bank are stakeholders in the project. Both the concession and operating contracts are for 35 years.The contract calls for operations to start after the interim period i.e. between execution and concession commencement date (pre-operations period), which is expected to last 5 months in accordance with the provisions of the concession contract.

Egnatia Odos, a network of transcontinental interest

Egnatia Odos is a major road link between southern Europe and the Middle East. The freeway, which irrigates the whole of mainland Greece, connects Turkey with Central Europe (Albania, Northern Macedonia, Bulgaria) and Italy (Ancona, Bari, Brindisi). Egnatia Odos concession project comprises the entire A2 motorway crossing northern Greece from east to west, and 3 north-south routes: the A25, the A29 and a section of the A1.

The A2 (E90), built between 1994 and 2009, is 658 km long. The freeway links the west coast (port of Igoumenitsa) to the Turkish border (Kipi).

The A1 (E75) is a north-south motorway from Evzoni – on the border with Northern Macedonia – to Athens.

The section to be operated by Egis and Gek Terna is 60 km long. It runs from Evzoni to Chalastra (near Thessalonica), where it connects with the A2.

The A29 (E86) runs from Krystallopigi – on the border with Albania – to Siatista, where it connects with the A2. It is 69 km long and also serves Kastoria.

The A25 (E79) runs from Promachonas – on the Bulgarian border – to Lagkadas, where it connects with the A2. It is 96 km long and also serves Serres.

Egnatia Odos serves the ports of:

Igoumenitsa
Thessaloniki
Kavala
Alexandroupoli

It also serves the airports of:

Ioannina
Kastoria
Kozani
Thessaloniki
Kavala
Alexandropouli

B16 – Egnatia Odos concession. Credits: Egis

The central section between Klidi and Lagkada has three lanes in each direction. The speed limit is 130 km/h. The vertical axes are mostly two-lane freeways. The Evzoni-Chalastra axis currently has only one lane in each direction, to be upgraded into a two-lane freeway within the first 5 years of the concession period.

Change of scale

The integration of Egnatia Odos brings to almost 5,200 km the number of freeways operated by the Egis group on 5 continents and in all climates. It also increases the number of tunnels operated to over 150 km, reinforcing the group’s position as a world-class operator.

Egnatia Odos alone includes:

1,650 bridges for a total of over 40 km;
76 tunnels for a total of over 49 km;
an open toll system comprising:
- 18 frontal toll booths on the main roadway;
- 40 lateral toll booths on access ramps.