The will of the government to limit “any disturbance” that may arise in the short term at the stage of the works for the creation of the Flyover in Thessaloniki, was conveyed today by the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Christos Staikouras, before the start of the meeting on project, with city agencies, at the facilities of Elliniko Metro SA. At the same time, he announced the creation of a metropolitan body for the transportation project of Thessaloniki, while announcing that “the contract for electric buses, which will strengthen the transportation fleet in Thessaloniki and Attica, has just passed through the hands of the Parliament”.

In more detail, Mr. Staikouras pointed out that during tonight’s meeting, it will be possible to evaluate the findings from the previous meetings – and during August – on the subject, “so that we can move from the meetings to the actions and in September to start the implementation of the policies that will be proposed and agreed upon by the agencies and by those most experienced in the specific matter, in order to deal with part of the problem that may arise”.

“In Thessaloniki, emblematic projects are being implemented, including two very important ones, the Metro and the flyover. The first project, which is being closely monitored by the Deputy Minister, Nikos Tachiaos, is estimated to start operating (…) in 2024 and the flyover will start in the following period. These projects will change for the better the daily life of citizens in the medium and long term. However, it is a fact that, as is the case all over the world, in major projects there is a short-term disruption of the citizens and our will is to limit, in cooperation with the agencies, any short-term disruption until these emblematic projects are implemented. In this direction, in the previous period of time, on the initiative of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport and the Deputy Minister of Interior (Macedonia-Thrace), we started a meeting so that all agencies can synchronize and find the best and feasible solutions as soon as possible”, he emphasized.

Metropolitan body for the transportation project of Thessaloniki

In the meantime, the contract for the electric buses that will be added to the transport fleet of Thessaloniki and Attica, of which more than 100 will go to the former, is now in the Parliament, to be discussed in the coming days, as Mr. Staikouras pointed out .

“Among the initiatives we must undertake is to improve the transport infrastructure of Thessaloniki and in this direction tomorrow we will have a meeting at the offices of the Citizens’ Organization – OASTH (…) in order to come to an end, as we had committed, on how the Organization (which has been in special liquidation since 2017) from 2024 onwards and how we will immediately strengthen its fleet, including with electric buses, the contract of which has just passed into the hands of the Parliament” he underlined the minister.

At the same time, he added, the goal is to examine how the Organization for the Transport Project of Thessaloniki (TPO) will have a much more important role in the transport project of the city, and this “is the will and initiative of the political leadership coherently, to see how we will end up with a metropolitan body in Thessaloniki as well as in Attica, in order to be able to systematically and methodically deal with problems of the daily life of the citizens of Thessaloniki with regard to the transportation project” underlined Mr. Staikouras and stated that he is “realistically optimistic” that specific projects will be launched in the next period of time solutions.

For his part, the Deputy Minister of the Interior (Macedonia-Thrace), Stathis Konstantinidis, pointed out that it is a fact that the laborious effort to upgrade the infrastructure of Thessaloniki and in general Northern Greece can cause arrhythmias. However, there is provision (to limit problems). “We have all recognized the necessity for the implementation of the major projects that will ultimately improve the quality of life of our fellow citizens. Here we are today, after four meetings, a working committee was also set up from a technical group, in order to record the data and indicate to us, if possible, proposals and interventions that will mitigate the consequences that the large projects will logically create during the implementation stage them,” he emphasized.

The mayor of Thessaloniki, Konstantinos Zervas, noted that it is clear that Thessaloniki needs the fly over and has needed it for years. At the same time, he added, it is clear that the city does not have much endurance and needs a realistic and sustainable plan immediately, which must include the fastest delivery of the Thessaloniki metro, the reinforcement of the Traffic and alternative modes of traffic. “We are here both to cooperate and to claim. It is important for us to be part of the solution and not the problem, but in any case during the next four years that the construction of the Fly Over will last the city must be sustainable” he concluded.