The European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Union's long-term lending institution, is making available up to GRD 220 billion (ECU 708 million) for the development of the new Athens peripheral motorway.

The Master Facility Agreement was signed today in Athens in the presence of Mr Y. Papantoniou, Minister of National Economy, and Mr. K. Laliotis, Minister of Environment, Town Planning and Public Works. For the EIB signed Mr P. Gennimatas, Vice-President, and for the concessionaire ATTIKI ODOS S.A. (AO) Mr N. Chionis, Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Mr Leonidas Bobolas, Managing Director. Financing under this facility is expected to be signed in tranches over the construction period (1997-2003).

In December 1996, a first loan of GRD 45 billion equivalent (ECU 145 million) was made available to the Hellenic Republic in order to contribute to the financing of works carried out by the State on the Athens peripheral motorway.

The overall facility approved by the EIB including the loan to the Hellenic Republic totals GRD 265 billion (ECU 853 million).

The EIB Vice-President P. Gennimatas said: "The new motorway is, together with the New Athens International Airport and the Rio-Antirio bridge also financed by the Bank, one of the largest and most needed transport projects ever undertaken in Greece. It will relieve the city centre from through traffic and will provide access to the "Eleftherios Venizelos" airport. It will contribute to creating a healthier environment in the Greek capital and to preserving Greek cultural heritage."

The motorway is part of the PATHE main road axis supported jointly by the Community Support Framework II (CSF II) and the EIB. The PATHE axis is a key project included in the priority list of Trans-European Network projects (TENs) approved by the Essen European Council.

The new motorway, is expected to serve 207 000 vehicles per day in 2003, its first year of full operation. As demonstrated in environmental studies, air and noise pollution, community severance and impact on archaeological sites will be well addressed.

The European Investment Bank was set up by the Treaty of Rome in 1958 to provide long-term loans for capital investment furthering European Integration. Owned by the EU Member States, the Bank raises most of its resources on capital markets. In 1996 the Bank made loans totalling ECU 21.5 billion of which 721 million ECUs (GRD 224 billion) in Greece. EIB remains the largest single financier of TENs, having lent some ECU 33 billion for this purpose since 1993 for capital investment representing over ECU 120 billion. Examples of EIB TENs financing covers a whole variety of projects ranging from TGV systems in Northern Europe and Italy, to the Øresund link between Denmark and Sweden, and gas pipelines in Greece and between North Africa and Spain and Italy.Since the accession of Greece, the EIB has advanced more than ECU 2 billion (GRD 621 billion) to support the improvement of the Greek transport network. The Bank has financed road and rail links along all the main transport axes of the country, such as the motorways PATHE, EGNATIA and Corinth-Tripoli, the railway line Athens-Idomeni, Athens Metro, the New Athens International Airport " Eleftherios Venizelos", the Egnatia motorway and the Rio-Antirio bridge. EIB finance has also gone towards improvement of interregional and regional road links, as well as the modernisation of ten regional airports and nine ports.

The conversion rates used by the EIB for statistical purposes during the current quarter are those obtaining on 30 September 1997, when ECU 1 = GBP 0.69, IEP 0.76, USD 1.113, GRD 310.728.