Karamanlis – Patras-Pyrgos highway begins at start of 2022

At the beginning of the year, the machines for the construction of the Patras – Pyrgos road axis, which received the final approval from the European Commission, and will come forward, announced the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Mr. Costas Karamanlis, speaking on Parapolitika radio station.

Mr. Karamanlis flung barbs at SYRIZA, saying the road would be ready in 2019, but the first thing that SYRIZA did in 2015 was to cancel the tender, which the Samarsa-Venizelos government had started with secured funding, and to breakdown the work piecemeal. “SYRIZA did this to favor specific business interests, Mr. Kalogritsas, who after that participated in the ridiculous competition for television licenses,” he said.

According to the minister, experience has shown that the road would never be completed if it remained “broken” in eight parts, which is why the current government entered into negotiations so that the road could be returned to the concessionaire in order to become cheap and be completed quickly. He pointed out that the approval of the Commission came after difficult negotiations, and announced in advance that “the project starts at the beginning of the year and will be ready at the end of 2023- beginning of 2024”.

Strengthening the mass transit fleet

Mr. Karamanlis also referred to the strengthening of public transport, pointing out that the increase of the bus fleet in Athens reached 55% and that point interventions are made daily and controls are intensified on the busiest lines, in order to make the daily life of the citizens easier.

On main opposition leader Tsipras

On the occasion of the controversy over the Tsiodras-Lytras ovid morbidity study, Mr. Karamanlis pointed out the incompetence of SYRIZA, which has invested in a toxic opposition. He underlined that many SYRIZA officials, under the cover of Mr. Alexis Tsipras, are vulgarly exploiting the anxiety and fear of the pandemic.

“I think that Mr. Tsipras is a little dizzy from the election of Mr. Androulakis”, commented Mr. Karamanlis and wondered why the president of SYRIZA does not ask for elections, since he claims that the Prime Minister should resign.

The Minister of Infrastructure and Transport estimated that Mr. Tsipras was dragged into the removal of MP Kouroumblis after the incredible insults heard in Parliament, reminding that the president of SYRIZA has shown great tolerance in other similar cases.

“Mr. Tsipras was dragged into the decision to remove Kouroumblis and I say this because there are other MPs and officials and former ministers who have said the same and worse,” said Mr. Karamanlis in particular and pointed out that the president of SYRIZA has not expelled Mr. Polakis, although he has made statements that go beyond any threshold of political controversy.