Karagiannis: How are the big projects in Thessaloniki progressing?

In the schedules of the big projects that are implemented in Northern Greece and are an injection of growth and employment, the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, responsible for infrastructure, Mr. George Karagiannis, speaking at the conference of the online newspaper Voria.gr on the opportunities opened by the Recovery Fund and the New NSRF for the Greek economy.

“A significant amount of leverage of private funds through PPP contracts and European funds is directed to Thessaloniki and Northern Greece, which admittedly have deficits, both due to the ten-year crisis in the country and due to awkward and misguided choices by the SYRIZA government. of the period 2015 – 2019 ” stressed Mr. Karagiannis.

As the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure underlined, “auctions, contractualizations, construction sites and project deliveries are also the answer to the distrust in Thessaloniki”.

“We respond with our actions and not with words and meaningless fiestas” he noted and added characteristically “we have already delivered the orphan kilometer to Potidea, we have started the construction of the road connection of the 6th pier of the Port of Thessaloniki with PATHE and the Egnatia Odos that was pending from 2000, while Thermi – Galatista, part of which we have already delivered, will be delivered in its entirety in the fall “.

“We will not allow the works to become a field of controversy and Thessaloniki to be left behind”

Regarding the criticism leveled at the transportation and the big projects that are going on in Thessaloniki, Mr. Karagiannis clarified:

1. For OASTH: We received 235 buses and today there are 460 in the city. From the beginning of 2023 we will start receiving the new buses.

2. For the railway connection of the port of Thessaloniki: “What we found was a stuck competition for the study. “Through the Competitive Dialogue, we managed to overcome the bureaucracies and the delays and the competition for the project is already in the second phase”.

3. For FlyOver: The project went on for two years and at the end of 2022 it will have construction sites. “The criticism why we moved so fast and why the traffic situation in the city will improve significantly is not valid. We all know that the city needed this project to solve the big problem of traffic load “.

4. For the Holocaust Museum: “It did not fit where it was located, that is the reality. You went and put a museum – an ornament in an area that did not fit “.

5. For the Thessaloniki Metro: Mr. Karagiannis asked “the metro was finished, while it had no rails, wagons and stations and we keep it for three years without delivering it?”, While he stressed: “There are two perceptions in politics, one to inaugurate tarpaulins and the other to say the reality”.

He added that “as a government and as the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport with Costas Karamanlis we will not allow the city to be left behind and the projects to become a field of confrontation”.

Where are the great works of Thessaloniki

Mr. Karagiannis gave a complete picture of the progress of major projects being implemented in Thessaloniki, confirming the interest of the government and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport.

As he said:

• Thermi-Galatista, part of which we have already delivered, will be delivered in full at the beginning of Autumn
• Flyover signs a contract in the fall
• The connection of the port with PATHE has a construction period of 30 months and was signed on 16/6/2021.
• For the 17 school units in Northern Greece, 16 of which in Thessaloniki, we will have binding offers at the beginning of September
• The Thessaloniki Metro is delivered complete and operational at the end of 2023
• For the Maintenance and Operation Agency of the Thessaloniki Metro, the tender will be announced within the summer
• The Aliakmonas Bridge is delivered at the beginning of 2023
• The Courthouses of Central Macedonia are in the second phase of the tender and binding offers are expected in the fall.

Mr. Karagiannis sent a clear message that the “obsession” with the schedules has an additional goal and that is that “we want to gain the trust of the people” and explained that “when there is the political will, proper planning and organized supervision even the more complex projects are being completed “.

About 5 billion euros for projects in Northern Greece in the coming years

In total, about 5 billion projects are expected to be implemented in Northern Greece in the coming years. Euros only from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport and its supervised bodies.

“Projects that ensure an injection of growth and employment in the region” as noted by the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure.

Indicatively, he stated that “the Northern E-65 is one of the two road projects that will be fully financed by the Recovery Fund and its construction has already begun”.

He made special reference to “the two major railway projects, Thessaloniki – Toxotes and Alexandroupolis – Ormenio, projects with a budget of up to 2.8 billion”.

“All the big projects are progressing at a pace that the city has never seen before”

After all, as he underlined, the most important thing is for the projects to be done and not for which financial instrument they will be included, as long as there is secured funding “.

In closing, Mr. Karagiannis expressed the certainty that “Thessaloniki in the coming years will be a completely different city and the most important thing for the citizens is that there is planning, the government is on their side and all major projects are proceeding at a pace that did not have see the city again “.

“The city with the development of the port and the airport and with the big infrastructure projects stands out more than ever and significantly strengthens its geostrategic position in Southeastern Europe” concluded Mr. Karagiannis.

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