For major projects implemented throughout Greece and highlight the infrastructure as a locomotive of growth, justifying the government planning of the last 2.5 years, said the Undersecretary of Infrastructure and Transportresponsible for Infrastructure, George Karagiannisin an interview he gave to Alpha radio station.
“Our country has had many years to see so many project announcements that concern all of Greece,” he noted.
The competitions for the four public road projects
He initially referred to the four public road projects, describing the Bralos-Amfissa section, with a budget of 285 million euros, as a “very substantial and important project”. A project that the country needed for many years, as it will reduce the required travel time from Patras to Lamia and will allow faster road transport from the Regions of Central Greece and Thessaly directly to Western Greece.
As he announced, “tomorrow the offers for the BOAK section from Naples to Agios Nikolaos will open, with a budget of 186 million euros and we will have an official contractor until the end of February for the Hersonissos-Naples section. Also, tomorrow we will have an opening of offers for the construction of the Chalkida and Psachna bypass that will improve the connection of Athens and Chalkida with Northern Evia. Tomorrow, the offers will be opened for the expansion of Kymi Avenue and connection with PATHE, which will solve the daily traffic problem of thousands of citizens “.
He underlined that the procedures for all four public road projects ran very fast and in 2022 construction sites will be set up.
Double intervention in “Patras – Pyrgos”
Then, the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure referred to the Patras – Pyrgos highway, informing that its construction begins immediately, as it is a project of key importance “for the whole Peloponnese, but not only, which had been blocked for five whole years and for which after much effort we secured the approval of the 3 directorates-general of the European Commission “.
For the first time, as he noted, there is a double intervention in the road network, as “we are improving the existing network with road safety projects amounting to 30 million euros, while next month begins the big project of construction of a new highway.” Regarding the schedules, he underlined that the road safety project will be completed in 1 year, while at the end of 2024 70% of the new highway will be given and a little later the rest, smaller, section.
Line 4: Movements in the Basin will change
Mr. Karagiannis also referred to the important role of Metro Line 4, emphasizing that “this is the largest public infrastructure project that will change all movements in the Basin, as it will serve an additional 340,000 passengers, while 55,000 fewer vehicles will circulate.”
Preliminary work has already begun, while the works at the Katehaki construction site are progressing, in order for the TBM to enter.
In a few days the Memorandum of Cooperation with the Municipality of Athens and Attiko Metro SA
In fact, the Undersecretary distinguished another special intervention regarding Line 4 that is made in collaboration with the Municipality of Athens and is going to increase the environmental footprint of the project. The memorandum that will be signed in the coming days, is expected to lead to the planting of an additional 2,000 trees in Athens.
End of 2022 the environmental licensing of the extension of Metro Line 2 to Ilion
Mr. Karagiannis also spoke about the extension of Line 2 to Ilion with three new stations, Palatiani, Ilion and Agios Nikolaos – and announced that by the end of the year the studies for the auction of the project will have matured. He estimated that with the expansion of Line 2, an additional more than 50,000 passengers will be served daily.
West Attica is high on the agenda of the Ministry of Infrastructure
In West Attica, the project plan also includes the suburban railway, with a budget of 100 million euros. According to the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure, the project is expected to go on the air by the end of May, as the ministry’s goal is “to facilitate travel to a part that was very far from the center of Athens.”
At the same time, the Suburban Railway will be extended to the ports of Lavrio and Rafina, with obvious development benefits, both for the improvement of commercial transport and the quality of life of the inhabitants of the wider area. In this direction, at the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023, the competition that is already in the process of competitive dialogue is expected to enter the final phase.
At the same time, the infrastructure in Western Attica is strengthened with the connection of the Western Regional Egaleo with the Athens-Corinth highway and the completion of the Skaramaga junction.
The bill for the Standard Proposals is submitted
“We are not managers, we changed the terms of the game. “We are creating new terms and conditions to speed up processes, to strengthen healthy competition, to make projects faster, to give a strong message both at home and abroad, that Greece will acquire modern infrastructure,” said the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure.
A clear example in this direction is the bill for the Standard Proposals that is submitted to the Parliament for voting.
“With the submission of the draft of the Model Proposals, individuals will now be able to submit proposals for large infrastructure projects over 200,000,000 euros. “We thus utilize the flexibility and know-how of the private sector, encourage the leverage of private capital, and in essence accelerate the implementation of regional projects,” he explained.
In closing, Mr. Karagiannis stressed that “the infrastructure sector is emerging as a locomotive of growth and justifies the government planning of the last 2.5 years, as today we observe collaborations of international construction groups with Greek ones, to participate in the tenders and we see companies they give incentives to attract engineers and scholars who had gone abroad “.
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