Here are Greece’s top infrastructure projects to finish within 2024

Some of the most iconic projects currently under construction are expected to be delivered this year.

The flagship among the deliveries for 2024 is, of course, the main line of the Thessaloniki Metro, a project that the second-largest city in the country has been eagerly anticipating for years. However, this year will also witness the completion of other significant projects, both larger ones and smaller ones that hold great importance for the respective regions where they are being implemented.

It should be clarified that this year marks the official commencement of the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) program for the period 2021-2027. The funding from the previous program, ESIF 2014-2020, concluded in 2023, and from this year onward, we have the new European financial framework as a reference point for project financing.

In 2024, as repeatedly emphasized by the leadership of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, it will be -finally- the year of the Thessaloniki Metro. The same sentiment is expressed by the construction consortium and the Greek Metro. The month that appears to witness the inauguration of the new transportation system is November of the current year, marking the beginning of an informal countdown.

The New Railway Station-New Switzerland line was contracted in the distant year of 2006 and has undergone crises, company bankruptcies, reactions from local entities, the local government, and dozens of appeals to the Council of State. In our collective memory, it will remain as a project that we would not want to see repeated, and, most importantly, it would be beneficial to be studied as a case study on how public projects should not be implemented.

The 15 stations and 9.6 kilometers mark the beginning of the Metro network, as the extension to Kalamaria is set to follow in 2025 (God willing). More specifically, the stations expected to operate are: NEW RAILWAY STATION, DEMOKRATIAS, VENIZELOU, AGIA SOFIA, SIDRIVANI, PANEPISTIMIO, PAPAFI, EVKLEIDI, FLEMING, ANALIPSEOS, 25TH MARTIOU, VOULGARI, NEA ELVETIA.

In today’s report on upcoming projects, we anticipate seeing them in operation shortly. Estimates suggest that by January, the final section of the Ambracia Road (Aktio-Ambracia) is expected to be completed. Consequently, the entire new highway, with a total length of 48.5 kilometers, will be the first vertical axis on the Ionian Highway, serving routes to the coasts and islands of the Ionian Sea. It’s worth noting that this project also rectifies a winding road, as the characteristics of being a closed highway significantly enhance road safety levels.

A little later, by March, we expect the full operation of the Piraeus Tower, an iconic project for the city. Terna, on behalf of Dimand, completes the reconstruction of the tower, and we already have the first shops in operation. The Tower will resume its full operation after 47 years.

At some point, within the first semester, as declared by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, we anticipate two significant deliveries on the E65. The first one concerns the southern section from Xyniada to Trikala, spanning 32 kilometers, which will finally provide access to the previously “blind” highway. Additionally, the first northern section, from Trikala to Kalambaka, will be opened to traffic, creating a seamless stretch from Lamia to Kalambaka. We are awaiting more specific dates for these deliveries.

After the summer, we anticipate two significant deliveries. The first one is the completion of the Lefkada Dual Link (the axis from Agios Nikolaos has already been delivered), and the new indoor sports facility in Nea Smyrni.

However, in 2024, there will be other significant project deliveries, this time in the energy sector. The completion of the Komotini Power Generation Unit by TERNA-Motor Oil is expected, along with the electrical interconnection between Attica and Crete, and the expansions of natural gas infrastructure in Chalkida, Thebes, Katerini-Alexandria, Lamia, Xanthi-Drama, and Komotini-Alexandroupoli.

In terms of local road projects, the project by Egnatia Odos S.A. from Diomario to the borders stands out. Additionally, we are anticipating the completion of the Kalloni-Sigrio project in Lesbos, Delta-Karditsa, the completion of the Alexandroupoli Regional Road, the Great Ring of Ioannina, and Trikala-Karavoporo.

According to the timelines, we are also expecting the completion of several waste management facilities in cities across the Region. More specifically, in Zakynthos, Kefalonia, Western Thessaly, and on the peninsula in Crete.

Within the year, we also anticipate the completion of urban fortification projects, such as flood protection works in Rema Eschatias, Rema Giannoula, Kanapitsa, and Agios Georgios, as well as projects in Vari-Voula-Vouliagmeni, and others.