Greece is still being battered by the 2008 global credit crisis that led to the enforced sale of much of the nation’s infrastructure. One of the largest privatizations, covering 880 km of highways across the northern region, is reaching a critical point with binding offers due this April.
The Egnatia Odos motorway runs for 658 kilometers between Igoumenitsa, on the northwest coast, and the Turkish border at Kipi. Three linking highways, totaling 225 km, are included in the privatization. The main route was completed in phases until 2009 by a special-purpose government company, Egnatia Odos S.A., with substantial funding from the European Union’s bank.