The total restoration of the damages of “Daniel” and “Elias” will exceed 3 billion euros, with 1.4 billion euros concerning the road and railway infrastructures, as well as the restoration of schools, as stated by the Prime Minister in related event held at the Mouzaki Municipal Cinema. Of the €1.4 billion, €600 million comes from the Recovery Fund. The rest are resources of the NSRF and the State Budget, noted K. Mitsotakis.

By the end of 2025, the entire railway network will be delivered

“The roads will be rebuilt and better, so that even the most inaccessible corner of Thessaly can be covered. This was the direction we gave. Whether we are talking about the villages, the mountain villages of Trikala, or we are talking about mountainous Argithea, or we are talking about the most isolated villages of Pelion, the road network will be built and built more durable than in the past, because if we learned anything from the passage of ‘Iano’, it was that when we rebuild infrastructure that was destroyed with modern standards, it can indeed withstand and theology of ‘Daniel’ intensity. And the same specifications will be used for the restoration of major infrastructure projects.” stressed the prime minister. And he went on to say: “Whether we’re talking about roads, whether we’re talking about bridges, whether we’re talking about rail. The temporary restructuring of the network has already taken place and by the end of 2025 the entire rail network will be delivered in a better, more resilient state than ,what was before.

The role of European resources is important

The prime minister reiterated – as earlier during his speech at the inauguration of the Lamia – Kalambaka section of the E65 – the important role of Europe and its financial programs.

As he characteristically stated “if the country was not in a good fiscal situation, if our economy was not developing, if we had not recovered the investment grade, if the cost of financing the Hellenic Republic had not fallen, it would be very doubtful if we could from the national resources to secure that sum which is so necessary to be channeled into Thessaly.” He added that the resources of the Budget are obviously not endless. In order to be able to direct more resources to Thessaly, we deprived them of some other projects. This is important to know, but the prioritization we are giving Thessaly is absolutely necessary, considering the extent of the damage you suffered from “Daniel”. And finally, he emphasized the European dimension of these resources. As for the Recovery Fund, I will say again that this is an additional financial tool, which our government negotiated and the imprint of which can already be seen across the territory. But we managed through a new renegotiation of the Recovery Fund to channel resources from the Recovery Fund to the restoration of Thessaly. It wasn’t easy. We succeeded and we achieved it. As we used resources from the previous NSRF, for issues related to compensation and state aid.”

The prime minister underlined that “we must not forget the importance of Europe’s footprint, not only in dealing with such natural disasters but overall in financing very large infrastructure projects, which change the face of Greece. It is perhaps the best answer to those who claim that the European elections are a boring process, which does not concern the citizens. What happens in Europe concerns all of us. And I think the funding of these projects is the best proof of what I am saying.”

Finally, the prime minister thanked, among others, the Union of Greek Shipowners and especially its President, Ms. Melina Travlou, for the speed with which she responded to his request for the shipbuilding community to assist in the great national effort to finance the reintegration of Thessaly. “In a few days, the not inconsiderable amount of 50 million was collected, a significant part of which is directed to direct interventions, which will be done not just to improve but to actually strengthen the infrastructure of the many schools that were affected by the bad weather.”