Sustainable and Safe Transport Top Greek Gov’t Targets

Greek Infrastructure and Transport Minister Christos Staikouras.

Modernizing and enhancing the safety and security of the country’s infrastructure and transport, improving urban and regional passenger transportation services and establishing electromobility infrastructure are top government priorities, said Greek Infrastructure and Transport Minister Christos Staikouras during the Naftemporiki conference held in Athens this week.

Addressing the  “Upgrading Greece” conference, Staikouras referred to the ministry’s five-pillar action plan which includes accelerating the completion of key public projects such as the Thessaloniki metro, which is scheduled to start operations in 2024, opening a segment of the Ε65 highway to Kalambaka in the first months of next year, and starting construction on the Thessaloniki flyover next month.

Additionally, he said, of utmost importance is securing funds for a wide range of projects as well as promoting private-public partnerships to support these initiatives.

Staikouras also said that moving ahead with the country’s green transition in transport was very important. In this direction, he said 250 new electric buses would be delivered to Athens and Thessaloniki in April 2024 and that actions were being taken to establish electromobility infrastructure.

“We are putting sustainable urban mobility policies into practice, placing the citizen-passenger at the center of mobility planning in order to facilitate movement and improve transport conditions in a sustainable way,” he said.