Phantom Rails and Roads

Abstract

Among the largest transport schemes of inter-war Greece were the Begian railway and Makris road projects. This article outlines the State's negociations with foreign civil engineering contractors and bankers, then examines the terms that were agreed and the implementation of the ventures. It argues that both phantom projects were an extreme example of waste and the misallocation of scarce ressources. The State paid more attention to historical, political and military considerations than to technical and economic factors in its policy towards these public works