The Greek-Bulgarian megaproject is a project of strategic importance that could make Greece a key cargo and transport hub in Southeast Europe. Sea2Sea.

The cross-border project Greece-Bulgaria “Sea2Sea” essentially provides for the development of a European railway corridor that will connect the ports of Thessaloniki, Kavala and Alexandroupolis with their counterparts on the Black Sea (Burgas and Varna) and the Danube (Ruse). .

The creation of a bypass railway across the Bosphorus will significantly increase the role of the development of Northern Greece by creating an important new freight corridor in Europe.

This transnational project includes two of the most important projects of the Competitive Dialogue promoted by ERGOSE under the leadership of Christos Vinis on Greek soil.

These are the construction of the new Thessaloniki – Toxotes railway line and the modernization of the Alexandroupolis – Ormenio line, projects that form the core of the Egnatia Eastern Railway and which have already entered the second phase of the competitive process using the Competitive Dialogue. method.

Thessaloniki – Sagittarius

The construction of the new Thessaloniki-Toxotes railway line with a budget of 1.68 billion euros is the main part of the Egnatia Eastern Railway, which will make a decisive contribution to the transformation of our country into a transit hub of the Southeastern Mediterranean.

As part of this project, 206 km of a new railway line with signalization and electrification was put into operation, which completes the railway corridor connecting Thessaloniki with Kavala.

At the same time, it will connect the port of Nea Karvali, which is under development, crossing the eastern part of the Kavala prefecture, and will enter the wider area of ​​Toxoton Xanthi, where it will be connected to the rest of the OSE network. The new line is estimated to shorten the Thessaloniki-Alexandroupolis route by at least 3 hours.

Alexandroupolis – Ormenio

The €1.08 billion project to modernize the existing cross-border line from Alexandroupolis to Ormenio is a project of strategic importance that improves cross-border connectivity with Bulgaria at Ormenio and with Turkey at Pythia.

This will improve both freight and passenger traffic, as the line will also serve suburban areas along the Evros River.

The selected contractor will undertake the study and construction of a project to upgrade the existing single railway line Alexandroupolis – Ormenio – Greek-Bulgarian border of 176 kilometers into a double line, with the installation of signaling and electrification systems.

Geopolitical advantages of the Sea2Sea project

Greece and Bulgaria are cooperating closely in the implementation of this important project. The Sea2Sea project is currently in preparation for the establishment of a joint company between Greece and Bulgaria to take over its management, while the procedures for its inclusion in the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF II) financial program and other financial instruments have not yet been completed. began .

After all, this is a project that is in line with the current major initiatives and priorities of the European Commission for combined green transport.

This rail corridor offers an alternative land bridge to inland Black Sea ports and is a more sustainable and less risky solution for supply chain management. Bypassing the Bosphorus will achieve significant time savings for cargo and passengers.

In fact, according to studies, it is estimated that with its operation, the project will use a percentage of the Bosphorus containers, which in total amount to $650 million per year.

The benefits from the modernization of the Thessaloniki-Alexandroupolis-Ormenio railway axis will be multiplier and will be associated with the economic development of the region and the creation of new jobs, both during construction and in the long term during the operation of the line and related activities.

Source: RES-IPE

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