By Giorgos Lampiris
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Kostas Karamanlis and the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure, Giorgos Karagiannis, inaugurated an “adventurous” project. The bypass of Amfilochia, part of the highway Aktio – Ambrakia with a total budget of 160.5 million euros, went through several different waves, with discounts of contractors due to the inability to fulfill the project and re-auctions. In the end, the Mytileneos group was the one to undertake its completion, delivering it five months ahead of schedule. The section that opens today is 17.4 kilometers long, bypasses the town of Amfilochia and cuts travel time to Lefkada and Preveza by 20 minutes. The remaining section of the motorway will be delivered in 2023.
The entire new road axis has a length of 49 kilometers, is co-financed by the European Union and includes the connection with the Ionian Road. It is recalled that for the implementation of the Aktio – Amvrakia project, the first contracts began in 2008, facing significant difficulties along the way due to archaeological and other issues, which led to the interruption of the project. New issues of involvement in the development of the project followed, which further hampered its development. The original contractors for the section that Mytilinaios finally signed and took over in 2020 were GEK TERNA and AKTOR through a joint venture they had set up. In this case, however, the appeal of the Italian GD Infrastructure came to interrupt the implementation of the project again, while a cycle of appeals followed on both sides. In the end, the holding of a new tender led to the signing of the contract between the State and Mytilene in the winter of 2020, with the aim of completing the road axis Aktio – Amvrakia. The execution of the works was undertaken by the Department of Sustainable Development Projects of Mytilene (formerly METKA).
K. Mitsotakis: The problem of Amfilochia is solved with the project that is currently being delivered to circulation
The Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, referred to a series of projects that were bogged down in the gears of the national bureaucracy, which the government bodies patiently untangled. “The result is that we moved from models and plans to projects that change the Greek territory.”
“The project is important for all of western Greece, but especially for the region of Etoloakarnania, as the city becomes impassable in the summer due to the trucks passing through Amfilochia. This problem is solved with the part of the project that is handed over to traffic today” .
Ev. Mytileneos: The project was already facing significant difficulties – We did not hesitate for a moment
As the president of the Mytileneos group, Evangelos Mytileneos, said, “we undertook Aktio-Ambrakia under special circumstances. The project was already facing significant difficulties and now we had to face external crises that would make it difficult for us. We did not hesitate for a moment. Mytileneos always delivers on time and consistently the projects it undertakes, with high quality standards and respect for the citizens who will use them”.
K. Karamanlis: Aktio-Ambrakia was one of the projects that afflicted Greek society
For his part, the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Kostas Karamanlis, noted that exactly 3 years ago on July 22, 2019, the government made the program statements in Parliament. “Then I remember that I had started my placement from the now terrible, emblematic and problematic projects that afflict Greek society, Patra-Pyrgos, BOAK and Aktio-Ambrakia, which everyone would wonder if they would be done. We had to work quietly and methodically to arrive three years later where we are today.Patra – Pyrgos and after painstaking negotiations has three construction sites working day and night to deliver the project on time, BOAK from a simple pencil on the map, without study, drawing and financing now has a temporary contractor and within the year we will see the first construction sites being set up. Aktio-Ambrakia is being delivered today in most of its parts and in fact five months earlier than our contractual obligation”.
He even added that without the personal actions of the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the European funds for the projects were not lost, while Greece was freed from the threat of fines and the possibility of fiscal corrections.
G. Karagiannis: The project was one of the first issues addressed by the leadership of the Ministry of Infrastructure
The Deputy Minister of Infrastructure, Giorgos Karagiannis, said for his part that “infrastructure projects are done for the next generations and not for the next elections and to this end, we are all aligned”. He added that today’s project was one of the first issues addressed by the political leadership of the Ministry of Infrastructure to get out of the tangle of legal disputes. “Since 2020 when the contract with Mytileneos was signed, what has not changed except a lot that has happened since then on the planet, was the government’s commitment to the delivery of the project”.
Source: Capital
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.
