2024-02-21 08:38:19
The High Technology and Research Park will be “experimental” in its birth, if the Region of Epirus manages to implement it in the way it seeks, after the wreck of finding financing and the withdrawal from the Recovery Fund.
The District wants to avoid the scope of borrowing, with a plan that seems difficult to implement, as it requires a contractor determined to invest in its construction, but also to run the whole project of searching for technology companies, who will want to settle in it .
The change of philosophy behind the Research and Technology Park, disrupted by the arrival of a private individual, is attempted to be balanced in exchange for a 1,700 sq.m. building. and services to start-ups, which will be hosted on it.
The entire proposal for the Concession Agreement through an open international tender was developed during the Regional Committee, which met on Monday morning, with a proposal not by the regional governor Alexandros Kahrimanis, as one might expect, but by the head of the Directorate of Transparency and Electronic Government of the Region Epirou Vangelis Sakkas, in order to explain the rationale and the economic-technical model.
As emphasized by him as well as by Mr. Kahrimanis, the planning is “official”, with the cooperation of executives from the Special Management Service and the Technical Service, and it came in the last few weeks, after the turn the case took. “Choosing the concession is a one-way street, so that the Region does not enter into an incredible financial risk that the borrowing will have”, noted Mr. Sakkas, stressing that in the case of the execution of the project as a public one, the cost can exceed 50 million . euros, while as a private company it will be almost half, and (with the unfavorable scenario) it is estimated that the contractor, in the 30 years of the concession, will have revenues of approximately 70 million euros, which corresponds to the return he would have had if he had invested the money of in a ten-year bond.
Of course, here comes the difficulty. “It is understandable that we do not address real estate funds,” noted Mr. Sakkas. “Essentially we are looking for someone who aims to make it work the way we want and is interested in developing it. It is very possible that the competition will be fruitless,” he added.
Otherwise, plan-b will be activated. As Mr. Kahrimanis mentioned, the requirement of the Region and the commitment of the government for funding of 15 million euros are still valid, which will be used either in a second phase, if the specific tender is not successful, or in some other project of the Region.
The concession contract
The proposal for the concession contract through an open international tender provides for the construction of the Park with the existing design and building permit issued by the Region of Epirus for the central building of 22 acres.
The concessionaire will fully undertake the financing of the construction project, while, during the period of operation of the Park, he will have full responsibility for its administration, maintenance and proper operation.
In exchange for the concession of the space, a total area of 38 acres, serving the public benefit nature of the project, undertakes the commitment to have the office spaces fully equipped, of a building with an area of 1700 sq.m. exclusively for lease to start-ups (to be selected by public challenge) and in the Region of Epirus, with a nominal rent of one euro/per square meter per year. Also, to provide, free of charge, incubator services and to organize educational and cultural events.
In fact, answering questions, Mr. Sakkas noted that there are clear commitments in the concession contract, so that any action by the contractor will only serve its purposes. He added that the criterion for selecting a contractor is the largest possible area that will be allocated to the Region from the second building.
The opposition
The opposition was caught by surprise, both the members of the Committee, the leaders of the factions “Kiono ton Epirotes” Yannis Stefos, “Epiros Olon” Stefanos Zoumbas and “Popular Rally” Giorgos Prentzas, as well as the representatives of the “Horizons of Epirus” factions and “Fos” who attended the meeting.
With a basic reservation, which he repeated many times, the possibility of amending concession contracts, Mr. Stefos requested that the issue be raised first in the regional council and then the tender announcement be made. “The whole design is changing, what we are talking about is something completely different,” he noted, voting against.
By all accounts, the official proposal was very good, as noted by Mr. Zoumbas for his part, however he left clear indications that an interested party has already been found. “According to me, you have already found a contractor. For the time being we are negative and we are waiting for a complete file”, he noted, requesting that the matter be brought to the regional council.
“The role of the Region is played by a dominant partner”, emphasized Giorgos Prentzas, noting at the same time that an effort is now being made to highlight the public benefit nature of the project, while he also doubted that there will be a result. “It’s like we’re looking for the perfect investor,” he noted.
To speed up the competition, Messrs. Sakkas and Kahrimanis cited as justification that the entire financial model is based on the 30-year concession, which means that, if there are delays, there is a risk of losing the use of the area, which has been granted to the Epirus Region by the Ministry of Rural Development for 35 years , which are already counting down.