In the morning, the Prime Minister visited a construction site where the northern section of the E65 central Greek highway is under construction, which will connect Trikala to Grevena and then further north to Egnatia Odos. Kyriakos Mitsotakison the route from Larissa to Grevena, and expressed confidence that the first section of the project from Trikala to Kalambaka will be opened at the end of 2023.

“I am particularly pleased today to visit the live construction site of the northern section of the E65. The road is of key importance for Thessaly, especially for western Thessaly, as it will finally connect Thessaly with the Egnatia road, a road that is extremely important for Western Macedonia, I would say, for the regional development of the country as a whole,” said the Prime Minister. and continued: “The truth is that this project, as the minister said, was practically written off. When we got down to business, he had very great difficulties with the involvement of the European Union Competition Directorate and the lack of secured funding. We have worked very hard on this project, unlocked the relevant procedures at the level of the European Commission and achieved full funding from the Recovery Fund.”

Mrs. Mitsotakis: I said we will turn the country into a big construction site

According to him, “this project, which, as you can see, is being implemented at a rapid pace and will be completed on time, will fall almost $500 million, with the first section of it, the section connecting Trikala and Kalambaka, being completed. until the end of the year. And this is obviously of particular importance for the further development of the Meteora region, which is one of the country’s iconic tourist destinations.”

“I said before the 2019 elections that we will turn the country into a big construction site with a strong focus on the periphery. I think everyone finds that it comes into practice. We are now talking about tangible projects, projects that are being implemented, projects that improve the quality of life of all citizens, projects that break the isolation of the region, projects that essentially close unresolved issues that come from the past,” he said. and added: “One of these projects is the northern part of the E65, and I think that the smiles of all the inhabitants of this area are the best proof of how important this project is.

Finally, I want to emphasize that this project is also being built by Greek companies, it is being built by Greek engineers, Greek technicians, Greek craftsmen, proving once again that Greek construction companies have the experience, the ability to carry out complex technical projects and participate in the development leap that begins today. in our country.

Hopefully we will arrive at the end of 23 to open the first section from Trikala to Kalambaka.”

Decade of Major Rail Projects

Mr. Mitsotakis emphasized that the next decade will be a decade of major subscription projects and noted: “Trikala is already among the top 20 tourist destinations in the country, although these projects are not yet completed. So think about what the overall dynamics could be for Trikala, for Grevena, which I’ll get to in a minute, for the whole amazing array that is still largely unexplored. We are currently closing unfinished road projects from the E65, from Patra – Pyrgos, from the Ambrakia bypass and, of course, from the northern axis of the roads of Crete.

The next decade will be a decade of major rail projects. There the country was left behind. We have had too many failures in the way these projects have been developed and tendered.

We have done a very serious job on the implementation of the railway project, and you are absolutely right that the railway is the most environmentally friendly means of transport.

This is of particular importance, not only for passenger traffic, but also for commercial activities that can be carried out, and of course, a region that aspires to become a transit center, such as Thessaly, must also have access to reliable railways. It is very important to think not only about Thessaly, but also about Western Macedonia, which is facing great difficulties in delignitization, so that Western Macedonia also has a rail connection, and not just a road one. He acquires it through E65. It must also have rail links to the country’s backbone network. That is why this study is of particular importance,” the Prime Minister emphasized in his speeches.

Kostas Karamanlis: Important projects in the region

The Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Kostas Karamanlis, informed the Prime Minister about the progress of the work, saying: “Mr. President, we welcome you to the construction site of the northern section of the E65 highway. A project that has gone through a thousand waves, and you will allow me to reiterate how important your own contributions were to two key issues. The first was to unlock the project from the Competition Directorate. A project that was blocked and scrapped, your own government and you personally succeeded and unblocked it.

The second most important thing is that this project is now financed from the Recovery Fund. This means that the national resource contribution is zero. Today we are here to show you the progress of the work, which is 20%. And we are here to inform you that we are moving fast on this project and the first part of the 24 km Trikala – Kalambaka road will be ready ahead of schedule, i.e. in 2023.

The projects that we are implementing across the region, and especially in the region here in Thessaly, are very important projects and are aimed at what you have always been talking about since 2019: now we are putting the region at the forefront, and these projects prove that we now need not only to say that we care about the development of the regions, but also to show in practice specific projects that bring this vision to life.”

Mr. Agorastos: Projects important for safety, environment and people

For his part, the regional governor of Thessaly Kostas Agorastos said the following: “I want to thank you for unblocking the electrification of Paleofarsala-Kalambak and for the electrification of the Thessalian railway, because this will be the first region that has an electric railway and this is important for safety, the environment , of people. And this work gives us a competitive advantage.

Thanks for everything else, you gave us a lot. We talked about this yesterday, but it’s important because electrification was a dream. It was a dream to make this road here.

They are important, they are iconic, large, humane, modern projects and projects that also help the environment.”

“Ridge” of Greece

According to the data presented, the 70.47 km northern section of the E65 motorway will greatly contribute to the rapid and smooth connection of the regional units of central Greece, as well as their links with Epirus and Western Macedonia, improving road safety and expanding trade. , transport, tourism and economic prospects of the wider region.

Work began in August 2021 and is expected to be completed in 2025, with some sections such as Trikala-Kalambaka to be commissioned earlier.

In connection with the completion of the southern section, which will reach the Xiniada junction, a safe and modern road axis will be handed over to the traffic flow, which will pass through the “highway” of Greece, stretching from Lamia to Egnatia.

The budget for the implementation of the northern section of the E65 is 480 million euros. The project is included in the Recovery and Resilience Fund, which will fully cover the costs.

^{Source: APE-MEB}