Northern Road Axis of Crete: The next steps for the Chania – Heraklion – Hersonisos motorway section

The Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport is going at it full speed ahead so that by the beginning of 2024 all fronts of the Northern Road Axis of Crete have been opened. The largest road project being built in Europe has entered the final stretch, as construction sites have already been set up on the eastern part. Step-by-step, the pending issues for the largest part of the axis from Chania to Heraklion, which is also the big bet, are being closed, while the intermediate part of the “Hersonissos – Neapoli” PPP is expected to be signed before Easter.

Although a real road race is required to close a number of issues with tight procedures, the goal of the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure, Mr. Giorgos Karagiannis is for the binding offers for the “Chania – Heraklion” section, with a budget of 1.6 billion euros, to be submitted at the end of March with early April. The tender, which concerns the study, construction, financing, operation, maintenance and exploitation of the axis, will put forward the western arc of the Northern Road Axis of Crete to the Hersonisos junction.

Kastelli Αirport, on Crete, to be delivered a year ahead of schedule

Funding and milestones

Including the part of the option from Kissamos Chania, this is a modern highway of 137 km, which will be built through a concession contract. The competition went to phase B last December. GEK TERNA, AKTOR Concessions, AVAX, Vinci Highways – Vinci Concessions S.A.S. and Acciona Concesiones – Mytileneos are participating in the competition..

The project will be financed with 200 million euros from the Recovery Fund, out of a total of 427 million directed to all three sections of highway, funding secured under the strict conditions set by the European Union for road projects. This means that the technical characteristics of the project are “locked”. An important step was the approval in mid-December of the technical report for the implementation of the “Chania – Heraklion” section by the Regional Council.

The necessary individual steps are taken gradually. In this direction, the minutes were approved for the appointment of a temporary bidder for the technical consultant who will help define the expropriation zone of the highway in Kissamos-Chania-Heraklion, as well as the boundaries of the concession project. Also, the awarding of the contract of a technical consultant who will assist the competent directorate in the creation of a digital terrain model (DTM), accuracy using LIDAR technology, is progressing in the same department.

As regards the contract for the PPP of the “Peninsula – Neapolis” section, amounting to 290 million euros, which will be built by the joint venture TERNA – Aktor Perachores – Intrakat, is expected to be signed in the next period.

The rest of the projects

As noted by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, during his recent visit to the construction site of the “Neapolis – Agios Nikolaos” section, which is being built as a public project, the project’s maturity from Souda to Sitia is progressing. In its full development, the Northern Road Axis of Crete will measure approximately 300 km and will connect the western end of the island with the eastern. The total budget of the project will exceed 2.4 billion euros.

In particular, studies have been completed for the construction of the 5.8 km long road section of the Pachia Ammos bypass, with an estimated budget of 47 million euros. The Environmental Impact Study  and the preparation of cadastral studies for the construction of the axis in the section Kalo Chorio – Gefyra Frouzi, 5.7 km long, have also been approved. The completion of the remaining studies of the project is estimated within the year. The budget is estimated at 83 million euros.

The preparation of the studies for the maturation of the road connection of Northern Road Axis of Crete with the port of Souda and the airport of Chania is also progressing. The studies concern both the environmental licensing and the tendering of the construction project. The submission of the Environmental Impact Study is expected within 2023. The budget for the studies amounts to 690,000 euros.