A package of proposals to strengthen Thessaloniki’s infrastructure was presented by the president, Marios Papadopoulos, and members of the city’s Chamber of Small and Medium-Sized Industries’ executive board to the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Christos Dimas, during a meeting held earlier at the Chamber’s offices.
Particular emphasis was placed on the westward extension of the metro, including its connection to the Sindos Industrial Zone, as well as its future connection to “Macedonia” Airport.
Furthermore, the need to create parking facilities was highlighted in order to relieve traffic congestion in the city, with Mr. Papadopoulos citing the underground parking garages found in European cities, such as Paris, as an example.
The importance of the rail connection to Pier 6 of the Port of Thessaloniki was also highlighted, as was the development of the western Thessaloniki suburban rail network, while students and workers emphasized the accessibility issues in Sindos. In fact, special mention was made of the difficulty in finding workers, which often stems, among other things, from the poor accessibility to the Thessaloniki Industrial Area (BIPETH).
For his part, the minister listened with interest to the remarks of the members of the BETH administration and briefed them on the ongoing projects, emphasizing the Flyover. As he noted, work is progressing rapidly, and physical completion of the project has now reached 53%. He emphasized that the new elevated expressway is expected to play a decisive role in alleviating traffic congestion, significantly increasing the capacity to handle vehicles on the city’s ring road.
He also referred to the Thessaloniki Metro, noting that the necessary testing and certifications are currently underway, with the timeline for the delivery of the extension to Kalamaria remaining unchanged for July. Mr. Dimas also noted that the tender for the widening of Pontou Street will proceed in the near future, a project directly linked to the operation of the metro extension, as it passes through four of the line’s five new stations and is considered critical for improving traffic in Kalamaria.
The minister was accompanied by the Secretary General for Research and Innovation, Dimitris Terzis. The meeting was attended by the New Democracy MP for Thessaloniki A, Dimitris Kouvelas, the coordinator of the Prime Minister’s Office in Thessaloniki, Yiannis Papageorgiou, while representing the Thessaloniki Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TCCI) were the Chamber’s Second Vice President, Tasos Polyzoidis, and board members Antonis Vangelis and Christos Gkinis.