Shipping Minister: New ferry line Thessaloniki-Sporades

The government is announcing a new subsidized ferry line, which will connect Thessaloniki with the Sporades islands. These will comprise three voyages per week, starting from June 1st until September 15th, as announced by the Minister of Shipping and Island Policy Giannis Plakiotakis, immediately after the meeting he had with the Deputy Minister of Macedonia and Thrace, Stavros Kalafatis, at the Governor’s Office.

“The inhabitants of Northern Greece will have direct access to the Sporades with a fast passenger ferry and in this way the central role in terms of ferry connections that the port of Thessaloniki can play is validated and we ensure excellent ferry connections, creating a network of of ferry transport at the level of Thessaloniki and, of course, excellent transport services for the inhabitants of Northern Greece and our islanders, “Mr. Plakiotakis noted. At the same time, he underscored that the line connecting Thessaloniki with the NE Aegean has already been launched.

Investment plan

Regarding the port of Thessaloniki, he said that “a very large investment program of over 300,000,000 euros is underway and the first phase of the mandatory investments is already in the last stage of choosing a contractor and therefore the works will start very soon, thus transforming the port of Thessaloniki not only in the freight hub of the Balkans, but also in the SE Mediterranean as a whole “. He added that it is understandable that the benefits for the local economy and employment but also for our national economy as a whole will be many.

Plan for ports

The minister noted that a comprehensive and well-planned program for the development of the country’s port infrastructure is underway. Three international tenders are already underway for the regional ports of Alexandroupolis, Kavala, Igoumenitsa, with great investment interest from domestic and foreign investment groups and, as he stressed, “this fact confirms the validity of our policy choice, but also in general the reorganization and the potential for the development of regional ports.”

Mr. Plakiotakis also stated that the budget for the  remote ferry lines in Greece increased from 90,000,000 euros in 2019 to 138,000,000 in 2021. And in this way the so-called barren lines increased to 24, creating a strong modern shipping network in both the NE and SE Aegean.

The Deputy Minister of Macedonia and Thrace characterized the fact that the ferry connection of Thessaloniki with the Aegean islands will remain as it is as very important, while the connection with the Sporades will be strengthened, while  the ports of Northern Greece will be upgraded. “Thessaloniki is becoming a real development hub and this is of great importance for the wider region,” said Mr. Kalafatis.