The Ioannina-Kakavia highway project is again on the spotlight

The issue of the extension of the Ionian Road to Kakavia is again in the foreground as once again we have a question in the Greek Parliament on the issue of the conversion of the Ioannina-Kakavia road into a highway.

This time the head of the Hellenic Solution, Kyriakos Velopoulos, conveyed the proposal of the Hotel Owners Association of the Prefecture of Ioannina for the construction of the large project for Epirus and asks the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport to find out if the necessary initiatives will be taken in this direction.

As it is noted, with its construction this axis will be connected with Albania and consequently the Adriatic Axis which starts from Trieste (Italy), passes through Slovenia, Croatia (along the Dalmatian coast), crosses the Montenegro and Albania and reaches Kakavia. The only country that has not yet been connected to this trans-European axis is Greece, as claimed by the Hotel Owners Association of Ioannina and who believe that this project is mature since 2013 and can be funded by NSRF funds.

The Hotel Owners Association of the Prefecture of Ioannina requests the acceleration of the road connection, so that all those who will pass by road through the aforementioned axis, can quickly and safely reach the Prefecture of Ioannina and Epirus.

This project becomes, in their opinion, extremely necessary, because:

a) The cost of transit and the time distance from this road for tourists wishing to come to our country will be shorter, compared to what exists today through the ferry connection with Italy,
b) This axis crosses 5 beautiful countries, which will make the prospect of visiting our country attractive,
c) The international airports of Ioannina and Aktio, the port of Igoumenitsa, as well as the road network of Egnatia and the Ionian Road will immediately acquire greater added value
d) the time distances from Ioannina to the Western Balkans and Central Europe will be reduced as follows:

From Ioannina to Tirana, the driving time will be 3.5 hours,
from Ioannina to Montenegro, driving time will be 5.5 hours,
from Ioannina to Dubrovnik, driving time will be 7 hours,
from Ioannina to Trieste, the driving time will be 12 hours.

Finally, the hoteliers of Ioannina claim that, with the completion within our country of the western axis of the Balkans, as they propose, the possibility will be obtained for:

i) The creation of combined tourist packages, which will start from the Dalmatian coast and will end in Epirus.

ii) The creation of “clusters” (networks of destinations to visit), which will make it accessible to our country: national parks, UNESCO protected areas, our archaeological sites, etc.

iii) The creation of prominent cultural and environmental routes, recognized by the European Union, through the E1 Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

iv) The establishment of transnational, interregional and inter-municipal relations with the countries of the Western Balkans.

Development the implementation of the project

According to what has been leaked recently, the construction of a modern highway in the section Ioannina-Kakavia, is one of the projects that has been added to the list of projects to be implemented by the Recovery Fund. It has most of the necessary characteristics, ie study maturity in a large part of it, it is a trans-European axis and there is a given political will to promote it. The final decision of the government for this project will be announced in October.