Economist Conference: Interventions and emergency measures in infrastructure after ‘Daniel’ storm

Rapid infrastructure repair projects amounting to 500-600 million euros, mainly related to restoring the road and rail networks and bridges, will be included in the revised National Recovery and Resilience Facility Plan, with the aim of restoring the accessibility of flood-stricken areas, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Christos Staikouras said on Wednesday during the Economist conference, in the context of the 87th TIF.

The specific project is the first of three axes on which the government must act with “speed, safety and a plan”, the minister pointed out. The second axis concerns the implementation of new infrastructure projects, including with a fundamental redesign or construction of new infrastructure, better able to withstand more adverse conditions, in order to mitigate – to the extent possible – possible future risks. The implementation of specific interventions in this field will require, as he said, additional financial resources, more than allocated in the past, through the use of eligible, future, EU financial instruments and national resources.

The third axis concerns the control and maintenance of existing projects, with the aim of enhancing their safety. For example, as far as bridges are concerned, “a National Register of Bridges, a National Manual of Inspection and Evaluation and Regulation of Inspection and Maintenance of Bridges has been drawn up,” which while making up only 2-3% of the length of the road network represent 30% of its construction cost.