Another PPP building project is in the process of being implemented. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport is proceeding with the tender for the first of a total of three clusters for the construction and upgrade of courthouses. These are the construction of the courthouses of Edessa, Serres, Kilkis and the reconstruction of the courthouse of Thessaloniki, their maintenance and management through PPPs, with a budget of 120 million euros.

The project is part of a package of 12 courthouses across the country, with a total budget of more than 300m, which was approved last March by the Interministerial PPP Committee. With the decision signed by the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Mr. Costas Karamanlis, the holding of an international tender with the process of competitive dialogue is approved, as well as the issue of the invitation to submit an expression of interest.

The private body that will undertake the project, within the framework of the partnership contract, will implement the design, financing, construction, insurance and maintenance of the three judicial halls in Kilkis, Edessa and Serres, as well as the existing courthouse in Thessaloniki. Award criterion will be the most economically advantageous offer based on the best value for money.

According to the decision, the overall design of the project is based primarily on the operational organization of the services, taking into account the judicial services provided and the resolution of essential issues that face and complicate the work of judicial officers in these cities. The design of the new buildings has been made with the aim of covering the operational needs at the level of facilities and infrastructure, taking into account the existing and future needs.

Implementation

The implementation of the project achieves:

– meeting the needs of areas that are currently not being met,

– modernization for the more correct, faster and more efficient functioning of the judicial services,

– the restoration of housing for court functions located in obsolete buildings, which present serious technical and operational problems, as well as risks to the health of workers,

– upgrading the image of courthouses that will restore the prestige and credibility of the services provided to the citizens by the judiciary, and

– the concentration of services that is currently fragmented into unsuitable properties in Kilkis.

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