The Olympia Odos company, which already manages the Corinth-Patras tollway across the breadth of the northern Peloponnese, has been awarded a contract for construction of the Patras-Pyrgos highway, along the northwest Peloponnese.
The announcement was made by Infrastructure Minister Costas Karamanlis himself, who added that he's optimistic the roadway will be delivered by 2023. Karamanlis is the namesake and first cousin of former Greek PM Costas Karamanlis.
The specific project is deemed as an urgent infrastructure project, as the previous construction had been broken down into eight separate contracts. Nevertheless, the previous contractor, Toxotis, controlled by businessman Christos Kalogritsas, this month declared bankruptcy.
The newly awarded contract foresees construction, operation and maintenance of the new roadway by the concessionaire until 2040.
The current Patras-Pyrgos road, nearly 100 kilometers in length, is considered as one of the more hazardous among the major provincial roadways in Greece, due to a high number of vehicles traveling on a non-partitioned roadway, which passes through various communities, and replete with significant commercial, tourism and agricultural activity on either side.
Breaking down the project into eight sub-sections was harshly criticized by then main opposition New Democracy party - the current ruling party - prior to 2019, which charged that the Kalogritsas was unduly favored by the then leftist SYRIZA government.
