On Friday, August 2, 2025, 65 out of the total 75 kilometers of the new Patras-Pyrgos highway were opened to traffic, ending an 18-year odyssey filled with delays and political confrontations. The first licensed drivers of August will now have the opportunity to travel safely to Elis through the new national highway.
The chronicle of an endless construction
The Patras-Pyrgos highway remained a phantom project for years, falling victim to the economic crisis. During the third bailout program, it became the center of a corruption scandal, until a definitive solution for its completion was found in 2021-22.
The story begins in 2007, when the project was incorporated into the concession of the Elefsina-Tsakona road axis. However, in 2013 it was withdrawn from this plan. A year later, construction of the highway restarted with a tender for a unified contract.
The catastrophic decision of 2015
The most problematic chapter began in 2015, when the newly elected SYRIZA-ANEL government canceled the unified tender. Instead, it decided to split the project into eight separate contracts, despite strong objections from the European Commission.
The Commission explicitly warned Athens that under these conditions, stable EU co-financing would not be approved. Nevertheless, the Greek government proceeded with implementing its plan.
As a result, approximately two full years were lost preparing tender documents and conducting the respective competitions. But this was only the beginning of the problems.
Five contracts, zero progress
During the 2015-2019 period, until the fall of the SYRIZA government, contracts were signed for only five of the eight planned contracts. The remaining three remained at a standstill.
Two of the pending contracts never proceeded, as temporary contractor Christos Kalogritsas, known for his close ties to the Tsipras government, was definitively declared in default. He failed to even provide the necessary performance guarantee letter. The third contract was trapped in a prolonged legal dispute that reached the Council of State.
The situation in the five contracted projects was equally disappointing:
• In four of them, the implementation rate ranged between 0.11% and 2% • Nearly one-third of the contractual completion time had passed • The construction sites appeared abandoned and were characterized as “dumping grounds” by residents
The death road continues to kill
While progress on the new highway construction was virtually non-existent, the old Patras-Pyrgos national road remained one of the country’s most dangerous routes. Between 2015 and 2018, double-digit numbers of traffic accidents and deaths were recorded each year, while the risk of losing European funding grew.
The Mitsotakis government’s solution
This chaos was inherited by the Mitsotakis government from 2019. According to sources familiar with the case, the initial assessment revealed that the situation was even worse than it appeared.
It was determined that even in the unlikely scenario of completing all contracted projects, only 23 of the total 75 kilometers of the new axis would be covered. In other words, the decision to divide into eight contracts would produce, at best, an incomplete and delayed project.
Facing these facts, the New Democracy government chose a different approach. It initially closed the old contracts by dissolving agreements and declaring contractors in default. Subsequently, after a series of negotiations, the solution of restarting through integration into the Olympia Odos concession was found in 2021.
Through personal interventions by the Prime Minister with the European Commission, EU funding was secured. In March 2022, the new construction contract was signed.
The end of the “odyssey”
Approximately 40 months after signing the new contract, the “odyssey” of the Patras-Pyrgos highway reached its end. On August 1, 2025, the entire new route was delivered to traffic.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in his statements, compared the project to the bridge of Arta, meaningfully commenting that “even the bridges of Arta sometimes get finished.”
Beyond the 65 kilometers that were completed, including the 62 of the new route, the remaining 10 kilometers are expected to be delivered by the end of November. This section of the old national road is undergoing complete upgrade to a state-of-the-art highway, to become an integral part of the new Patras-Pyrgos connection.
