VOAK Motorway: the new road to connect Crete from east to west is being designed

Yesterday, January 21, 2021, the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Mr. Giannis Kefalogiannis and the General Secretary of Infrastructure Mr. George Karagiannis had a meeting about the implementation of the new Northern Road Axis of Crete, with representatives of the Regional Union of Municipalities.

Mr. Kefalogiannis and Mr. Karagiannis informed the representatives of PED Crete about the stage at which the elaboration of the Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) is, which are a fundamental condition for the auction of the project.

Based on the plan of the Services of the Ministry, the relevant Study for the Hersonissos – Neapoli section is expected to be submitted within  February to the competent directorate of the Ministry of Environment and Energy for consultation, while the corresponding Study for the Chania – Hersonissos section is expected to be submitted in April 2021.

Design from Kissamos to Sitia

The overall design includes the construction of a Road Axis from Kissamos to Sitia. This is a large road project with high technical requirements, such as the creation of a number of tunnels and bridges.

Regarding the section Agios Nikolaos – Sitia, it is planned to take care of the financing of the completion of all the required studies and then the promotion of the request for inclusion of the project in a co-financed program.

Kefalogiannis: All the required steps have been taken

After the meeting, Mr. Kefalogiannis stated: “The Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Mr. Costas Karamanlis has set as a top priority the construction of the modern North Road of Crete. Since the summer of 2019, under the supervision of the General Secretary of Infrastructure, Mr. George Karagiannis, all the necessary steps have been taken until today so that this national road project can finally enter the implementation trajectory.

We are at the crucial stage of preparing the submission of the Environmental Impact Studies and today we had the opportunity to inform in detail the representatives of the local communities and to hear their views “.

The president of PED Mr. Giannis Kourakis made the following statement: “We presented to the leadership of the Ministry of Infrastructure the positions of PED Crete and at the same time expressed the anxiety and the demand of the Cretan society to acquire a modern, European standard highway from Sitia to Kissamos.

Finally, we must leave the declarations and move on to the implementation stage, in order to have the desired result, a road axis in order to have quality transport work, safety and will help the development of Crete. We will monitor the progress of the project based on what was presented to us today to ensure the full implementation of the project.

Finally, we would like to thank our fellow Deputy Minister Giannis Kefalogiannis, the Secretary General of Infrastructure. Mr. Karagiannis, the General Director of the Ministry Mr. K. Karnesis and all the executives of the Ministry for the presentation and the information they gave us, as well as for the productive dialogue and the very useful exchange of views that we had “.