The concession of the Egnatia Odos highway in northern Greece to the GEK Terna–Egis consortium is expected to be wrapped up by the end of the year. In the interim, the awarded company is tasked with upgrading the highway’s tunnels to allow the passage of vehicles carrying hazardous materials.

According to officials, the implementation of these projects will require traffic adjustments, potentially including lane closures for weeks. The goal is to complete the interventions on schedule so that the concession can be finalized by the end of 2025.

The exact cost of the work has not yet been determined, but information suggests it will be deducted from the acquisition price, state broadcaster ERT reported on Monday. The price for the 35-year concession is approximately 1.5 billion euros.

The Egnatia Odos, spanning about 670 kilometers from Igoumenitsa in the northwest to Kipi in Evros in the northeast, is the country’s largest infrastructure project. It connects eight major cities, passes by three airports and three ports, and includes approximately 70 tunnels and over 1,650 bridges. Construction began in 1994, with a total cost estimated between 6 and 7 billion euros, co-financed by the Greek government and European Union structural funds.