Estradas de Portugal, S.A. (EP) has responsibility for oversight and development of the national highway network. EP was formed in 2005 as a state-owned enter- prise, and it holds a 75-year concession with the national government to manage and develop the national highway system. In other words, EP will execute future PPP agree- ments on behalf of the Portuguese government and ultimately all assets under existing PPP contracts will transfer to EP when the existing contracts expire. EP is the successor to three agencies formed in 1999: Instituto das Estradas de Portugal (IEP), Instituto para a Construcao Rodoviaria (ICOR), and Instituto para a Conservacao e Exploracao da Rede Rodoviaria (ICERR) that replaced Junta Autonoma das Estradas (JAE), which existed from 1927 to 1999. Its conversion from three public agencies to a state-owned enterprise was driven largely by the need to move government debts off the national balance sheet so the Portuguese government could remain in compliance with EU budgetary standards.