Six out of 8 contracts for Patra – Pyrgos Motorway to be ratified soon by the Greek Parliament

Six out of the 8 contracts for the construction of Patra-Pyrgos Motorway are expected to be ratified by the Greek Parliament allowing the initiation of the construction phase, immediately after. These are the contracts concerning Pyrgos-Douneika and Kyllini-Mintilogli sections, which will connect the western end of Olympia Motorway to the new axis.

The 6 contractors have completed their tender and pre-contractual period and if Parliament’s ratification is completed by January, and given that 42 months are required according to the project’s notice for the completion of the construction works , the new sections should be delivered sometime in the Summer of 2022.

The features of the new motorway will be the same as those in Olympia Motorway; i.e. 2 lanes + emergency lane (per direction) with a safety traffic isle and intersections. The 75 km-long Patra-Pyrgos project has been in the spotlight in both ​​Achaia and Ilia prefectures as it was initially a part of Olympia Motorway concession project, from which was finally detached in 2013 with the revision of the contracts.

Then it was attempted to be auctioned in a single, unified contract that was interrupted, a plan that was cancelled as it was finally decided to be broken into 8 distinct segments. The project has been included for funding in NSRF 2014-2020 and has been approved by the relevant Commission services and the Court of Audit.

What is now pending are the 2 contracts for the remaining section Duneika-Killini (expected to be resolved in court), as appeals have been already filed. After that, they will proceed to Court of Audit, the Greek Parliament and finaly their construction phase, too.

The project is considered of crucial importance not only due to the significant traffic load of the axis but also because of the numerous road accidents with a high death toll. Along with Crete’s Northern Motorway Axis (aka VOAK), they are, for the time being, the 2 worst roads of the country in terms of safety features, but, fortunately, implementation plans for their upgrade are soon to be a reality.

Nikos Karagiannis-ypodomes.com