Athens, Greece – January 31, 2024 – In the presence of the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the Minister of Infrastructure & Transport Christos Staikouras, the motorway “Aktio – Amvrakia” officially opened to traffic, a project successfully completed by METKA SA, a subsidiary of MYTILINEOS Energy & Metals.
The Aktio-Amvrakia motorway has a total length of 49 km. It is part of the Greek Trans-European Network A52 and directly connects the Ionian Road from Amvrakia highway to the Airport of Aktio and the underwater tunnel of Aktio, as well as the Vonitsa-Lefkada motorway.
You can find the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis speech here: https://www.primeminister.gr/2024/01/31/33503
The Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Christos Staikouras stated the following about the project: "The Aktio - Amvrakia motorway connects directly the Ionian Road with the Airport of Aktio, the underwater tunnel of Aktio, the port of Igoumenitsa, through Preveza - Igoumenitsa motorway, and the junction towards Lefkada, bypassing the city of Amfilochia. Citizens will drive on a modern and safe highway. It will now take about 3 hours and 20 minutes to travel by car from Athens to Lefkada, saving 45 minutes on the way.
This is an important project that upgrades the country's road network at many levels. It shortens distances, increases users’ road safety, mitigates environmental burden and gives a development push to the region for the benefit of local communities.
Our policy helps to create infrastructure that promotes strong growth, enhances sustainable growth, increases employment and stimulates social cohesion. All of us can make our homeland stronger and society more prosperous.”
The company undertook the project “Aktio – Amvrakia” in 2020. With today’s latest delivery, METKA S.A. completes the project on time and with high quality standards. It was preceded by the delivery of Amfilochia bypass section, 17,4km long in July 2022, 5 months earlier than the company’s contractual obligation.
During the delivery ceremony, Chairman and CEO of MYTILINEOS, Ev. Mytilineos said: “We are particularly proud of the motorway delivery, because we have been able to cope with a technical project with exceptional difficulties, especially in its geomorphology. We have thus vindicated the trust of the contracting authority, but also the Prime Minister’s requirements, to build a modern and safe infrastructure for our country’s citizens. The delivery of this project convinces, once again, even the most skeptical about the ability of METKA S.A. to deliver timely, skillfully, reliably, and in the most consistent and effective way, and within the budgets, the projects assigned to it.”
The project, albeit located within the prefecture of Aitoloakarnania, significantly benefits the wider geographical department that includes the Aitoloakarnania – Lefkada – Preveza and Arta regions. Through the Aktio-Amvrakia motorway, the current distance is reduced by 13 km, while the travel time to Lefkada and Preveza is reduced by 40 minutes, substantially contributing to the further tourism development of the wider area. At the same time, the new modern highway is safer for residents and visitors. In addition, the urban areas of Amfilochia and Vonitsa become safer and more humane since traffic will now be served by the new highway significantly cutting down on exhaust emissions, noise and nuisance.
The motorway consists of two lanes per direction, of 3,50m wide each, one lane of guidance per direction, 0,50m wide and one central dividing islet.
The project has been implemented with the most modern technical specifications, innovative and special technical solutions. The following are some indicative examples: The application of the method of vibratory replacement, the use of LED lighting fixtures in the street lighting of the project to save energy, the use of modified asphalt to limit future maintenance needs and the shoring of drilled trench slopes.
In the link below you can see the project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqnjYA2h1TE
