Studies for Western Greece’s big underwater tunnel project are in the pipeline

The big new PPP project concerning the underwater link of Lefkada-Aitoloakarnania is coming to fruition. The maturation process is ongoing as 3 contracts are scheduled with design firms that will take us to the tender issues. The promotion of these contracts will demonstrate how the project claimed by the region will be implemented.

By decision of the Ministry of Internal Infrastructure, another Technical Consultant selection tender is underway. His duties will be to assist the Directorate of Transport Infrastructure with a Concession Agreement (D16) in the preparation, maturation and execution of the Tender.

The budget contract for a total amount of €947,670.00 (including VAT 24%) will be undertaken by Planet, which was declared the temporary contractor of the project. Completion of the tender is estimated for the near future. The tender was made through the Framework Agreement of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport with the 3 default consortiums.

Let us remind you that the first contract that is in progress concerns the preparation of the hydraulics study, the traffic study and the road construction preliminary study, with a total value of 172,360 euros (139,000 + 24% VAT).

Finally, there is a third tender which will have as its object geotechnical and topographic surveys. The cost is estimated at around 680,000 euros and the funding will come from PIP.

In what way could the project proceed?

The project, with the condition of implementation through PPP, should first mature and then, in order to get the start of the implementation, be approved (therefore there must have been a previous request) by the Interministerial PPP Committee.

With the promotion to implementation, the project completes the major road interventions in the area of Aitoloakarnania and its connection to Epirus and the Ionian Islands. In this context, the underwater connection of Aktio-Preveza, the Ionian Motorway, has already been completed, the Amvrakia Motorway (Aktio-Amvrakia) is to be completed and the important project of the double connection of Lefkada is underway, with some estimates placing it at the end of the year .

The undersea link of Lefkada will be a new modern gateway to and from the Ionian island which in the summer suffers from traffic congestion. This new infrastructure will replace the floating bridge that has been providing access services for decades.

An important project

Basically, the underwater link between Lefkada and Aitoloakarnania is a natural continuation of the Amvrakia Motorway (through the project of the double road connection of Lefkada). The project has been designated as a National Level project, which gives another dimension to the need for its implementation.

The project, having been included to “project to be implemented”, aspires to:

1. To improve the level of service for users (residents and visitors).
2. To the tourist upgrade of the area and the upgrade of the offered tourist product by ensuring fast and safe movements.
3. To reduce transport costs and increase the competitiveness of the primary and secondary sector of the region’s economy, which is important in scope and importance for the national economy.

The Lefkada underwater link project has been in demand for almost 35 years. In 2013, a concession tender of around 50 million euros was launched, but it did not succeed due to the financial crisis and was canceled three years later.