The visit of the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Nikos Tahaiou, in Heraklion, Crete, is underway.

The deputy minister began his contacts with a visit to the Heraklion Town Hall where he had a meeting with Mayor Alexis Kalinos, focusing on BOAK’s works on the city’s boundaries and the appeal of the Municipal Authority to the CoE that has been enhanced by additional technical reasons.

“The BOAK Convention will soon be signed, it is a matter of weeks,” Nikos Tahaios said on the concession contract for the Chania -Ersonissos Department. He even said that the outcome of the competition has been sent and controlled by the Court of Auditors, adding that “we will soon have the approval, so shortly thereafter the signing of the contract and the ratification of the law in Parliament”.

The Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Transport emphasized in his statements that the government’s goal is in the shortest possible time to settle in Crete and that to do so “we need to consult with local communities and local government”.

He even noted that “Crete has to win the BOAK and we must agree that we are all on the same side, the side that wants to see the project come true.” Finally, he added that with Mr Summer there was a very essential debate “to escape the Skopelos of Judicials in the Council of State”.

For his part, the Mayor of Heraklion Alexis Kalirinos spoke of “good consultation on the basis of the proposals that have been submitted and are realistic” and aimed at repeating “not to be harmed, but on the contrary to benefit the city of Heraklion”.

Mr Kalokoreinos also stressed that “if these projects we have requested are incorporated into the project- in the way that is designed by the government- I think we have an open field to move on” and that “the point is not to be involved in judicial struggles, but to benefit the place”.

Mr Tahaios then had a meeting with the Mayor of Malevizi Menelaos Boca, with whom they discussed the objections of the Municipality of Malevizi on the new BOAK derailment and the appeal to the CoE.

In his statements, he reiterated that BOAK is a reality, explaining that beyond the limitations of the Convention itself, the aim is to “start the projects too early, to open the construction sites as soon as possible. The Cretans know that the project has been delayed but it is a complex project, a concession contract “, and added that” the other two works are already underway, the peninsula – Neapoli and Neapoli – Agios Nikolaos, so this work must “come”.

The Mayor of Maleviziou, in turn, stressed:

“From the first moment, we have said that the issue is not the judicial dispute, nor the delay of the project. It is the attempt to upgrade through BOAK the quality of life of the citizens of the area. Therefore, what concerns the CoE is a process that has actually ran in the past. At the moment, there is a postponement until October, we hope that much sooner, we will have developments to proceed smoothly to the project. “

Immediately afterwards, Mr. Tachiaos will conduct an autopsy on the ongoing parts of the BOAK Hersonissos – Neapoli and Neapoli – Agios Nikolaos, but also at the construction site of the Heraklion International Airport in Kasteli.