Thessaloniki Ring Road: the AVAX – MYTILINEOS consortium declared as contractor for the Flyover project

The competition for the flyover of the Regional Thessaloniki is in the final stretch. By decision of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, the AVAX-MYTILINEOS scheme was finally declared the contractor. The next step is to send the contract to the Court of Auditors for approval. Then will follow the sanction by the Hellenic Parliament and then the contract will be signed.

The project 45 days ago was included in the 2021-2025 Sectoral Development Program of the Ministry of Infastructure with funding of 478 million euros. This is the most important road project in Northern Greece and is considered as a project that will give great relief to the traffic problem that Thessaloniki is facing.

The aim is for the contract to be signed within 2022 and for the works to start at the beginning of 2023. The contractor will be called upon to undertake the operation and maintenance of the entire Regional Thessaloniki, as will be foreseen in the final design, for the entire duration of the partnership as and, in the event that the Public Entity exercises the relevant option, the construction of individual road sections and junctions within the Pylaia urban development plan.

The object of the project

The upgrade of Eastern internal ring road of Thessaloniki provided through:

1. Construction of a 2+2-lane Elevated Expressway, in the crossing zone of the existing internal Ring Road in its section from A/K K5 to the area of ​​A/K K10 (Konstantinopolitika), in combination with reconstruction of the existing road as a whole of her deck width,

2. widening by one traffic lane and by sections adding LEA (Emergency Lane) to the section of the Eastern internal ring road of Thessaloniki from A/K K10 to A/K K12, and iii. improvement of the functional and geometric characteristics of the existing Eastern internal ring road of Thessaloniki.

The project has a total length of 13 Km, in particular (a) the section from A/K K5 to the area of ​​the “GENESIS” Hospital with a length of 9.5 Km is planned to be upgraded with the addition of an Elevated Expressway, (b) the section “GENESIS” – A/K K12, 3.5Km long is planned to be widened by one lane in each direction (eight out of six lanes in total).

Project duration

It will take 4 years for its construction and it is estimated that by the end of 2026 it will be able to be completed, if there are no other obstacles during the construction. The total duration of the contract together with the construction period is 30 years. During the remaining 26 years, the contractor will undertake the maintenance and operation of this new road. The State will pay with availability payments.

The project is implemented by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport with the PPP method, part of a package of similar road projects. With the same method, tenders are proceeding for the Kalamata-Methoni axis, for the section of the VOAK Hersonissos-Neapoli and the road sections Drama-Amphipoli and Thessaloniki-Edessa.

The first above ground axis of Thessaloniki

The flyover is a new axis that will be built on the eastern side of Regional Thessaloniki. Essentially, a section of around 4 kilometers will be above ground and this is the reason it was called a “flyover” as in the eyes of the driver who will be driving on the existing road, it will look like an additional axis is “flying”.

In fact, as market sources note, this is the first road axis of its kind in Greece which brings together many advantages. First, it will be able to create a way through traffic between its beginning and end.

It will decongest the current traffic in the existing section of the Regional which will now have more local, more urban features. At the same time, it will create a better connection with the city’s airport, which is constantly developing.

Drivers will have better access to southern Thessaloniki and Halkidiki and it will allow better, more comfortable and safer journeys. The new axis is estimated to greatly improve road safety levels compared to the existing axis.