Major delays in construction of Corinth-Patras section of the Athens-Patras motorway
| 31 March 2015 |
|
|
| Question for written answer to the Commission Rule 130 Notis Marias (ECR) |
||
Construction of the motorway between Athens and Patras began in the 1960’s and the section between Corinth and Patras was opened in 1969.
In 2008, the motorway was franchised to the Olympia Odos consortium. The consortium undertook to renovate the motorway by 2011.
Although 4 years have passed since the agreed delivery date, the section of motorway between Corinth and Patras has still not been completed.
According to press reports, works are already running 7-8 months behind schedule. Ergose is being blamed for this, as they have yet to start work at the 8 points at which the railway crosses the motorway. That project is also being financed from EU funds.
As a result, the completion date for the Corinth-Patras section of the motorway has been pushed back once again, this time to summer 2016.
In terms of progress in the project, 62% of road renovation works had been completed at the end of 2014.
In view of the above, will the Commission say:
| 1. | What measures does it intend to take in order to fast track construction of the Corinth-Patras section of the Athens-Patras motorway, which is being financed from EU funds? |
| 2. | Has it investigated the reasons why construction of the Corinth-Patras section has suffered such delays and, if so, has it held the persons responsible to account? |
Source: European Parliament
Answer given by Ms Creţu on behalf of the Commission
Completion of the road section ‘Elefsina — Korinthos — Patra’ is a major project co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in the 2007 — 2013 period under the Accessibility programme. As a result of the economic crisis, the project had stopped. The renegotiation between the parties of the concession agreement led to a new agreement and, following the ratification of that agreement by the Greek Parliament along with the publication of the ERDF co-financing decision in December 2013, work resumed. As of May 2015, according to the programme managing authority, around 94% of the physical object is already contracted, while around 60% of the project has been already completed.
The Commission is closely following the implementation of all five motorway concessions through exchanges of information with the managing authority, bilateral meetings, on-the-spot visits to Greece, as well as participation in audits. According to the information received from the Greek authorities, the project is expected to be fully completed by 2016.
Source: European Parliament
Recent Comments