Business Case Studies & Business Publications

Athens Ring Road (Attiki Odos)

Eades, Kenneth M.,...

Case

Athens Ring Road (Attiki Odos)

Eades, Kenneth M.; Allayannis, George (Yiorgos); Terlidis, Minas

F-1576 | Published December 3, 2008 | 19 pages Case

Collection: Darden School of Business

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The case examines one of the most significant infrastructure projects in southeastern Europe during a time when the legal and financial environment for project financing was in its infancy (early to mid-1990s). Athens needed a ring road to support its bid to host the 2004 Olympic Games. The road was technically—as well as logistically—complex, involving 33 municipalities and construction that involved a major metropolitan area (Athens) populated by more than 3.5 million inhabitants. The case examines the economics of the project, how private-public partnerships (PPPs) are structured, and the broader field of infrastructure finance.

The case could be used to pursue the following objectives: • To introduce infrastructure funds, what they are, what kinds of assets they invest in, and what their key characteristics are. • To examine the economics of a specific infrastructure project, such as the Athens ring road, a complex construction project of a toll-road bypass of Athens. • To examine types of alternative ownership structure (private finance, public-private partnerships, etc.) and the advantages and disadvantages of each in managing the risks associated with project financing.