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[BUSINESS] · Greece · 61 sources

Greece Completes E65 Highway, Connecting Central Greece with Thessaloniki

The final 46 km northern segment of the E65 highway was opened, linking Kalambaka to the Egnatia Motorway and completing the 182.1 km route that runs from Lamia to the Aegean‑Balkan corridor. Prime Minister Kyriacos Mitsotakis attended the inauguration, noting, “We said it and we did; Greece is changing daily.”

The new stretch includes modern toll stations at Oxyneia and Agiofyllou, with total charges of €13.50 for a full trip (e.g., €4.50 for passenger cars at Oxyneia). Travel times were dramatically cut: the Athens‑Grevna journey now takes about four hours, Lamia‑Egnatia about 1 h 45 min, and connections to the ports of Igoumenitsa and Volos are roughly two hours shorter.

Financed through a partnership between GEK TERNA, the Greek state and the EU Recovery Fund, the project overcame a two‑decade delay caused by the 2009 financial crisis and extensive negotiations with the European Commission. As part of the trans‑European TEN‑T network, the highway is expected to boost trade, tourism and agricultural transport across Central Greece, Thessaly, Western Macedonia and the wider Balkan region.

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