ATHENS — The contract for the construction of the north section of the Central Greece Motorway (E65) was signed by Infrastructure & Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis and CEO of "Kentriki Odos" concession company Rodanos Antonakopoulos, the ministry said on Thursday.

The motorway will connect Athens to western Macedonia and also to Italy via the port of Igoumenitsa, but also to the western Balkans and from there to the rest of central and northern Europe. Upon E65's north section completion the time required to drive from Lamia to Egnatia Odos will take 1.5 hours, a whole hour less than currently required.

It will also support western Macedonia during the region's critical transition towards the phasing out of lignite dependency for power production, it was noted in the ministry announcement. The connection of western Macedonia with Athens and central Greece will support companies already active in the region and attract new investments, it added.

In January 2021 the European Commission approved Greek public funding of 442 million euros for the motorway's construction and another 38 million euros to cover operating and maintenance expenses of this section. The project is expected to be completed in three years' time.