Responding to a topical question from SYRIZA Heraklion MP, Haris Mamoulakis, about the "need to upgrade the five uneven junctions of BOAK in the Heraklion area", the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport said that the full range of preliminary studies has been completed and during the next quarter of the year, all studies will be submitted to the Ministry of Energy and Environment, to go through environmental licensing.".
Mr. Karamanlis also noted that his ministry has awarded since
09/11/2020, a contract of consultants to examine the issues of the 5
nodes in Heraklion, including the bypasses in Chania and Rethymnon.
According to the latest planning, the BOAK extends from Kissamos to
Sitia and is divided, according to the way of their tender, into three
separate parts, which are as follows:
1. Kissamos to Hersonissos, to be auctioned as a concession contract
2. The Hersonissos - Neapoli section that will be auctioned as a PPP project
3. The Neapoli - Sitia section, that will be auctioned as a public project
The choice to implement parts of it with a Concession Agreement or a PPP
contract or as a public project has been made based on models, which
were based on very specific parameters, such as construction costs,
traffic loads, and expected crossings.
The Thick Sand - Ierapetra section, which will have two lanes in each
direction with a separated road, will be included in the future in
programs co-financed by the NSRF.
The total budget of the project amounts to approximately € 1.5 billion,
of which € 800 million will be based on the financial contribution of
the Greek State that will be covered by the grants of the Recovery Fund.
