Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited the construction site where the northern part of the Central Greece Highway E65, which will connect Trikala with Grevena and then further north with Egnatia Odos, is being built on Saturday morning.

“I am particularly pleased to visit today the live construction site of the northern section of the E65. A road of pivotal importance for Thessaly, especially for western Thessaly, as it will finally connect Thessaly with the Egnatia road, a road extremely important for Western Macedonia, I would say for the regional development of the country as a whole.

The truth is that this project, as the Minister also said, was a project practically written off. When we got down to business, it had very big difficulties, related to the involvement of the Competition Directorate of the European Union and it did not have secured financing. We dealt with this project very persistently, we unblocked the relevant procedures at the level of the European Commission and secured full funding from the Recovery Fund”, stressed the Prime Minister in his statement.

Mrs. Mitsotakis: I said in 2019 that we would turn the country into a big construction site, placing great emphasis on the periphery. This is being done

“Nearly 500 million will fall into this project which, as you can see, is being implemented at a fast pace and will be delivered within the schedules, with its first section, the section connecting Trikala and Kalambaka, to be ready before the end of the year . And this is obviously of special importance for the further development of the area of ​​Meteora, which is one of the emblematic tourist destinations of the country.

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I had said before the 2019 elections that we will turn the country into a big construction site, with a strong emphasis on the periphery. I think everyone is finding that this is coming 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 outstanding issues that come from the past.

One such project is also the northern part of the E65 and I think that the smiles of all the citizens of the 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, by Greek technicians, by Greek foremen, proving once again that Greek construction companies have the experience, the ability to carry out difficult technical projects and to co-protagonize them in the leap of development which is being launched today in our country.

Hopefully, let’s come at the end of ’23 to inaugurate, to open the first section, from Trikala to Kalambaka”, said Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

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The next decade will be the decade of major railway projects

“Trikala is already among the 20 tourist destinations of the country, without these projects having been completed yet. So think about what the overall dynamics might be for Trikala, for Grevena, which I’ll get to in a moment, for the whole amazing massif, which is still largely unexplored. We are now closing the pending road projects with the E65, with Patra – Pyrgos, with the bypass of Ambrakia and of course with the Northern Road Axis of Crete.

The next decade will be the decade of major railway projects. There the country had been left behind. We had far too many failures in the way these projects were designed and tendered.

We have done a very serious job of picking up the rail project and you are absolutely right that rail is the most environmentally friendly medium.

It is of particular importance not only for passenger transport, but also for the commercial work that can be carried out and of course a Region that aspires to be a transit center, such as Thessaly, must also have access to reliable railways. It is very important not only to think about Thessaly, but also to think about Western Macedonia, which faces the great difficulties of de-lignitization, so that Western Macedonia can also have a rail connection, not just a road connection. He acquires it through the E65. It should also have a rail connection with the backbone of the country’s network. That is why this study is of particular importance”, the Prime Minister emphasized in his statements.

Kostas Karamanlis: Important projects are being carried out throughout the region and especially here in Thessaly

The Prime Minister was informed about the progress of the works by the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Kostas Karamanlis, who stated: “Mr. President, we welcome you to the construction site of the northern section of E65. A project that has gone through a thousand waves and you will allow me to repeat, again, how important your own contribution has been on two key issues. The first was to unblock the project from the Competition Directorate. A project that was blocked and written off, your own government and you personally succeeded and unblocked it.

The second most important, that this project is now financed by the Recovery Fund. Which means that the national contribution of resources is zero. Today we are here to show you the progress of the work, which is at 20%. And we are here to tell you that we are moving at a fast pace on this project and the first part of the 24 km Trikala – Kalambaka will be ready before the schedules, that is, in 2023″.

“The projects we are doing throughout the region, and especially in the Region here in Thessaly, are very important projects and have the goal of what you have always said since 2019: that we are now putting the region at the forefront and these projects prove that we now have not only words – to say that we take care of regional development – but we also have to show concrete projects that make this vision a reality”, noted Mr. Karamanlis.

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Mr. Agorastos: These are important projects for safety, the environment, and people

“I also want to thank you for unblocking the Palaiofarsala – Kalambaka electrification and for the electrification of the Thessalian railway, because it will be the first Region to have an electric railway and this is important for safety, the environment, the people. And this work gives us a competitive advantage.

Thanks for everything else, you’ve given us a lot. We talked about it yesterday, but this is important, because electrification was a dream. It was a dream to make this road here. They are important, they are emblematic, large, humane, modern projects and projects that also help the environment”, emphasized the Regional Governor of Thessaly Kostas Agorastos.

The “backbone” of Greece

The northern section of the E65, 70.47 kilometers long, will substantially contribute to the rapid and seamless interconnection of the Regional Units of central Greece as well as their connection with Epirus and Western Macedonia, improving road safety and strengthening trade, transport , tourism and the economic prospects of the wider region.

Work began in August 2021 and is expected to be completed in 2025, while individual sections such as Trikala – Kalambaka will be delivered earlier.

In conjunction with the completion of the southern section, which will reach the Xyniada junction, a safe and modern road axis will be handed over to traffic that will run through the “backbone” of Greece, extending from Lamia to Egnatia.

The budget for the implementation of the northern section of E65 amounts to 480 million euros. The project has been included in the Recovery and Resilience Fund, which will fully cover the cost.