The weekend will be delivered to circulation o new road Aktio – Amvrakiathe prime minister emphasized Kyriakos Mitsotakis during the opening ceremony at noon on Wednesday.

He spoke of one new, modern and safe road that reduces the journey to Lefkada by 45 minutes.

The prime minister noted that the government continues to deliver at the same pace projects that improve the daily life of Greeks.

Especially about the new highway he said that it will change the face of Western Greecewill unlock new development prospects and serve citizens who “will get into their car without their hearts trembling”.

“This government will continue to launch the important work of strengthening infrastructure dealing with unforeseen situations like Daniel but we will do it consistently having secured financial maturity” he said.

Also, announced that the Thessaloniki Metro will be delivered in November 2024 and the Patras-Pyrgos national line in 2025.

Present at the event was the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Christos Staikourasthe Deputy Ministers of Infrastructure and Transport, Nikos Tachiaos and Christina Alexopoulouthe Regional Governor of Western Greece, Nektarios Farmakisthe president and CEO of MYTILINEOS Energy & Metals, Evangelos Mytileneosmembers of parliament, representatives of self-government, etc.

The Aktio – Amvrakia highway has a total length of 49.5 km, consists of two traffic lanes in each direction, each 3.5 meters wide, one guidance lane in each direction, 0.5 meters wide and a central dividing island with a two-sided parapet with the corresponding guide lanes of 2 meters width, i.e. they are 17 meters wide in total.

Also, the project includes:

  • Side and perpendicular streets.
  • Two large valley bridges of about 200 meters each and three smaller bridges for streams.
  • 9 junctions (8 uneven and 1 level), as well as overpasses and underpasses.

It was also manufactured and the road section that connects the end of the road axis Aktio – Amvrakia with the Ionian Road, approximately 500 meters long.

The total budget of the project amounts to 160 million eurosis part of the “Trans-European Road Network and Road Safety (TS)” priority axis of the operational program “Infrastructure, Transport, Environment and Sustainable Development” 2014 – 2020 and was implemented by the contracting company METKA of the MYTILINEOS group, which took over the project in November 2020.

With the construction of Amvrakia Odos, the Ionian Odos connects with the airport of Aktion, with the underwater tunnel of Aktiou and the port of Igoumenitsa (via the Preveza-Igoumenitsa road) and the junction to Lefkada, bypassing the town of Amfilochia. With the delivery of the project the travel time from Athens to Preveza and Lefkada is reduced by at least 45 minutes.

At the pumped storage unit of Amfilochia

Earlier the prime minister visited the construction site where the pumped storage unit of Amfilochiawhich is the largest large-scale energy storage investment in Greece, amounting to 650 million euros, with the aim of supporting the further penetration of renewable sources in the country’s energy mix.

“Here in the mountains of Amfilochia a pioneering project is underwaynot only for Greek but also for European data. This important pump-saving project should essentially be imagined as a very large battery. When we have a surplus of electricity we move water from the low reservoir to the high one and whenever the system needs electricity it is exactly the reverse course.

This work is particularly important because, as Mr. Peristeris also said, it will ultimately reduce the cost of electricity and allow us to use more renewable energy sources and utilize them in the best possible way”, said the Prime Minister, after being guided around the construction site and informed about the course of work by the President and CEO of GEK TERNA, George Peristerisand the project manager Dimitris Vrago.

“It is a project financed by the Recovery Fund with 250 million and when it is hopefully completed, within the next two to three years, it will have a very important added value for the overall stability of the electrical system, since we cannot expect the maximum possible penetration of renewable energy sources without having storage methods.

And pumped storage is the storage method that has the greatest added value, as this construction site will employ almost 1,000 workers in its full development, so we are talking about many more jobs for the wider region of Etoloakarnania. So, we look forward to the quick completion of this very innovative as I said about the European data project and hopefully we will meet again here to inaugurate it”, Kyriakos Mitsotakis added.

“It is a project that has a very high domestic added value, 70% will remain in Greece from the cost of the project as opposed to other storage systems. And we are moving fast with great employment. We believe that in a few years this will be able to serve the electricity system of the entire country and allow the further penetration of RES so that Greece becomes more self-sufficient and cheaper in electricity”, said Mr. Pigeon..