Egnatia Motorway in Greece: A Pioneer Project

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)   Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis inaugurated on May 30 the final section of Egnatia Motorway connecting Ioannina to Thessaloniki in a ceremony that took place on the Bridge of Venetiko River.  The Egnatia Motorway runs 670 km (416 miles) and stretches from Igoumenitsa in the Prefecture of Thesprotia to the Greek-Turkish border on the Evros River.  The ‘Egnatia motorway’ is a pioneer project that will facilitate the daily life of almost 36 percent of the country’s population and will impact positively on the country’s GNP.  During the ceremony, Karamanlis expressed his satisfaction as all the difficult sections of the state-of-the-art motorway were completed on time and standards respecting the environment were upheld.  A smaller section of the motorway connecting Ioannina with the Ionian port town of Igoumenitsa will be completed in July.  Egnatia Motorway: The Project Identity & Project Progress Map; Greek News Agenda: Egnatia Motorway: Greece is moving faster

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1,6 Billion Euros for Five Greek Ports

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA) A new investment scheme for Greece’s five major ports of national significance, namely Igoumenitsa, Thessaloniki, Kavala, Alexandroupolis and Patras and 27 other ports was announced by Merchant Marine and Island Policy Minister Anastasios Papaligouras on April 24. The total cost for the ports’ new infrastructure plan will amount to €1,6 billion. Fifty percent of the amount is covered by the European Investment Bank. The port of Igoumenitsa (North-western Greece) will receive a €44 million boost and will be linked to the Egnatia Motorway. A similar €185 million budgeted plan will be followed in the case of Patras port which will be connected with the PATHE (Patras-Athens- Thessaloniki, Evzoni) Motorway. A new passenger terminal is also under construction and will be delivered by 2010. Given its strategic position, the port of Alexandroupolis (North-eastern Greece) is also targeted. Its infrastructure is being upgraded in order for the port to increase its capacity in serving as a hub for the countries of the Black Sea and as a link of the latter to the TransEuropean Networks.

In the port of Thessaloniki, cargo handling infrastructure is being upgraded and the aim is for the port authority to participate in integrated logistics services networks. For the period 2010-2014, the port’s capacity to facilitate container cargoes is expected to rise from 450,000 TEUs to 1 million.  Ministry of Merchant Marine & Island Policy: Secretariat General of Ports and Port Policy; Secretariat General of Information: About Brand Greece-Ports

Greece’s longest tunnel opens

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)   A new road tunnel measuring 4.8km – the longest in Greece – will open to traffic in April. The Egnatia Motorway’s two-way tunnel at Driskos, Ioannina north-western Greece that took seven years to complete, cuts through Mt. Mitsikeli linking the Ioannina plateau with the Arachthos River valley. A total of 76 two-way road tunnels have been constructed within the framework of the Egnatia Motorway network, most of them along the Igumenitsa-Veria section. Athens News Agency: Greece’s longest tunnel opens