Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis described Thursday’s (23 July 2026) ceremony at kilometre 167 of the E65 motorway — marking the handover of its final 46-kilometre stretch from Kalambaka to Grevena — as a ‘historic day’ for Greece. Speaking at the event in Grevena, he declared that the full operational launch of the Central Greece Motorway (E65) completes one of the country’s most significant infrastructure projects.
A unified road axis for central and northern Greece
The newly completed E65 now directly links the Athens–Thessaloniki Highway (PATHE) with the Egnatia Odos near Grevena, forming a continuous north-south motorway corridor across central and northern Greece. ‘We are not just delivering a major road — we are proving that Greece can change,’ Mitsotakis said, underscoring the symbolic weight of the milestone.
‘We said it — and we did it’
Mitsotakis used the occasion to deliver a broader political message, contrasting today’s Greece with the era of delays, stalled infrastructure, and unfulfilled commitments. ‘The Greece of stagnation, incomplete projects, and empty promises belongs to the past,’ he stated, adding: ‘We can now say — and mean — “We said it, and we did it.”’
He called the E65 ‘the clearest mirror of the path we have travelled’, framing its completion as emblematic of the government’s broader record in delivering long-delayed public works. ‘The Greece of empty promises is history,’ he affirmed.
From stalled symbol to national achievement
Reflecting on the project’s troubled history, Mitsotakis recalled that the idea for the E65 was first proposed in the early 2000s, with construction formally launched in 2007 under the then New Democracy government. The original plan envisioned completion by 2013–2014 — a timeline derailed by the financial crisis. ‘The crisis froze everything — and the E65 became a monument to Greece’s impasse,’ he said.
What once risked becoming a ‘symbol of national inadequacy’, he added, now stands as a defining example of ‘a new era for Greece’ — one defined by execution, accountability, and tangible results.
Tribute to Giorgos Souflis
Mitsotakis paid special tribute to former Minister of National Economy and Public Works Giorgos Souflis, who spearheaded the project’s initial planning. He also highlighted the current government’s efforts to overcome bureaucratic hurdles and secure the necessary financing — calling the E65 a project of ‘top-tier specifications’ and a testament to sustained political will.