In the course of major projects, the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Christos Staikouras, addressed issues related to the railway network, the FlyOver and electrification, at the 9th Delphi Economic Forum, which takes place in Delphi from April 10 to 13 and is under under the patronage of the President of the Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoulou.
When is the E65 delivered?
Regarding the image of the major projects that are underway, the minister recalled that “at the end of January, we handed over a major axis, Aktio-Ambrakia” and added: “It was a government commitment that was carried out and the inauguration took place in the presence of the prime minister. It follows in the next two weeks the E65, which will be delivered in its entirety up to Kalambaka, and the metro in Thessaloniki, which will be delivered in November 2024. We prove our reliability in what we say.
In addition, the Patras-Pyrgos highway will also be completed in the summer of 2025, with approximately 80% of the project completed by the end of 2024. I therefore spoke to you about 4 major projects that will largely be completed in 2024. Close to the major projects there are also many smaller projects, which are successively delivered to the Greek society that help a lot in the everyday life of the citizen, such as the pedestrian bridge in Haidari”.
Awaiting the CoE for the FlyOver
Regarding the timely implementation of the projects, Mr. Staikouras pointed out that important steps have been taken.
Regarding the issues that arise while waiting for the final decision of the Council of Ministers on the FlyOver in Thessaloniki, the minister said that “we must deal with them by fully respecting the right that citizens have to appeal, as well as any decisions of the Greek Justice. Therefore, we are better preparing the file, which we will support in the next period of time covering as a State the anxieties and concerns expressed by the decision of the CoE”.
New railway carrier
Referring to OSE, the minister pointed out: “In the next two years we will complete the process of creating a new railway body, under which ERGOSE and an important part of GAIAOSE will be located. In addition, we have submitted important requests to the European Commission in order to obtain the necessary resources for the upgrading of the Greek railway, as well as its expansion, making use of the European corridors, so that Greece becomes a logistic hub with its ports as a springboard huge comparative advantage combined with their connection to the rail network.”
“Therefore, we need to take advantage of Idomeni, Promachona and Ormenio which are the borders of Greece, in terms of the railway network and our connection with Europe, and secure more resources – not only at the national level – for its upgrade” , said the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport.
250 electric buses
Regarding urban transport, Mr. Staikouras pointed out that 250 electric buses will be on the streets of Athens and Thessaloniki in the coming weeks, to which 300 natural gas buses will be added to the Athens fleet, 12 and 18 meters, until the end of 2025. In addition, “we are launching a tender for another 750 buses in order to upgrade the service to the citizens”.
Regarding electrification, Mr. Staikouras pointed out that we have 4 programs that are running at the moment. “Moving Electric 2” for I.X. vehicles, a program for taxis, “Charging Everywhere” to boost charging stations, as well as a smaller, “but extremely interesting” program in Astypalaia to make all travel by electric vehicles.
Source: RES-MPE
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