State and citizens have discussed Undersea tunnels in Greece for the last three decades.
Since the 1990s, when the Greek state started to use the contracts with the concession method, it proceeded with four tenders for undersea tunnels. Of these four tenders, the only successful result is recorded in the underwater connection of Aktios-Preveza, which has been operating for about 20 years.
The underwater tunnel of Thessaloniki
There is a tender from the then Ministry of Finance, amounting to 472 million euros for the creation of a undersea tunnel with a length of 3.8 km, of which 1.24 km would be underwater. The start was on Koletti Street at the height of the Courts and the finish line was on Megalo Alexandrou Avenue.
The tender that started in 2003 was completed in 2005 with THERMAIKI ODO being the contractor, consisting of the companies Hellenic Technodomiki TEB S.A., Aktor S.A. (now belonging to the Ellactor Group), Boskalis International BV and ARCHIRODON.
Submarine link Lefkada-Etoloakarnania
From 2020 onwards, the first procedures to withdraw the project from the drawers will start again and in 2022, studies for the maturation of the project began.
In order to complete the maturation of the project, the preparation of the latest studies with the object of geotechnical and topographic surveys is also required.
The Salamis-Peramas link
The case of the Salamis-Peramas undersea tunnels has been a concern for decades as to whether it should be implemented. In the distant 2016, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport began the tendering process with the concession method, however we are still in phase B for a long time.
The three schemes that have expressed interest and continue in the competition are METKA, TERNA and the joint venture VINCI CONCESSIONS – VINCI HIGHWAYS – AKTOR CONCESSIONS. The cost of the project is currently estimated at 450 million euros.
What remains is the project's environmental licensing to reach the submission of binding offers.
