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Modern roads, new tram lines, new subway lines in Athens and Thessaloniki are expected to contribute to the transformation of the transport map of Greece. A total of eight community projects in the coming months will be publicly announced, and 65 projects under the last ESPA program will be gradually completed.

• By the end of 2014 the new 47 km long motorway, Lefktro-Sparta, will come into operation. Today, it is 9% completed and will significantly reduce the distance between Athens, Tripoli, Kalamata and Sparta, which will boost tourism in the region of Laconia.

The highway in Laconia, www.lakonikos.gr

• It is expected that by the end of 2015 a large part of the work to be completed on the four road spurs: Olympic Road, Aigaiou Motorway, Ionian Road and Ε-65.

• By the end of 2014 Tsakona bridge is expected to be completed, a project worth 19 million euro. The 400 m bridge will connect the area after the great landslide of 2003, and is the last part of the unfinished Paradeisia - Tsakona section of the Tripoli - Kalamata motorway.

• 7 small and medium, but equally important road projects are in the stage of completion and are expected to be put into operation by year-end. According to information from the Ministry of Infrastructure these are: part of the motorway in the region of Maliakos, Florina - Nikki road section with length of 14.5 km, the second phase of the port of Igoumenitsa, the Goritsa - Agria section going round Volos on the road to the coastal villages of Pelion, the Agios Nikolaos - Kalo Horio section of the northern route of Crete, the new building at Sitia airport, the Velestino road junction.

Both, the completion of small and medium projects and the restarting of major motorways and the commissioning of new major projects in the near future, will create new jobs and ensure the development of infrastructure in the country.

The Ministry of Infrastructure will deliver over the coming months the completed major projects at both regional and national level. These are projects delayed for many years that will improve the daily lives of citizens and transform the country into an intermodal centre.

Extension of the tram network

tramvageris.blogspot.com

The network in Athens is being extended towards Piraeus. The project worth 91 million euro will start from ISAP stop in Neo Faliro and will end at the port of Piraeus. It will be 5.4 km long, and there will be 12 stations. In its construction, 150-200 workers will be employed. It is planned to be completed by the end of 2015 and it will reduce the traffic by 15 000 cars per day.

The construction of the metro in Thessaloniki is progressing with fast rhythms.

Road sections and metro change Northern Greece

Although the main section from the port of Igoumenitsa to Kipi Evros on Egnatia road was completed four years ago, works are carried out in sections connecting the main trunk with Albania, Macedonia and Bulgaria. This is the longest road section in Greece and on the Balkans, with the largest number of bridges and tunnels.

Simultaneously, in Western Macedonia the project Koromiliya-Kristalopigi is implemented from the Siatista-Kastoria-Kristalopigi road that reaches the border with Albania. They have been building the road since 2012 and it is expected to be completed in 2015, at a price of 158 million euro.

Slightly more to the east is the Florina-Nikki road section, the penultimate section before completion of the entire spur. The project is worth 65 million euro and will be ready after a year.

The construction of the Ptolemais-Florina section remains, to complete the motorway. The Kozani-Ptolemais section has been completed for years.

Two projects

In Central Macedonia two projects are under development, that will turn the road Thessaloniki-Serres-Promachon into a motorway. They are expected to be completed by the end of the year and are worth 147 and 37 million euro respectively.

In Thrakia, it is being worked under 2 projects in the Ardanio-Ormenion section. The value of the projects is 25 and 86 million euro respectively. They are expected to be delivered by the end of 2015.

The metro

By the end of 2014, several metro stations in Thessaloniki will be in an advanced stage, and eight stations will be moved to the stage of completion of works. However, the complete delivery is expected in 2018. It should be noted that the project for the metro in Thessaloniki is an "innovation" as it works with CBTC modern technology and trains will be fully computerized. The overall progress of the project is estimated at over 50% and the project financing is without any problems. In terms of archaeological excavations, the amount paid to date is 86 million euro, and 43 million euro will be requested in addition. This amount is the largest in the history of Thessaloniki for the discovery of archaeological treasures hidden underground.