Christos Spirtzis

The government has announced the construction of 10 new toll stations on the Egnatia Highway that crosses northern Greece.

According to Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos and Infrastructure Minister Christos Spirtzis, four of the stations should be in operation by the end of August while the remaining six will come into use by the November 1.

Canada-based PSP International is asking, in a quite discreet fashion, for the process to extend the agreement for the operation of the Athens International Airport to continue, after having stalled for a lengthy period.

The use of electronic tickets for Athens public transport will begin in August rather than on June 1, as pledged by Transport Minister Christos Spirtzis last month, as authorities intensify their efforts to set up the necessary infrastructure to support the scheme.

The Public Holdings Company (EDIS), a subsidiary of the Hellenic Holdings and Properties Company SA (the new hyperfund for state asset utilization), will receive the country's small regional airports and regional ports, the inner cabinet decided on Monday. However, no decision was reached on any major issues as the ministers will meet again once Public Power Corporation's fate is decided.

The Athens metro will have been extended to Piraeus, Aghia Varvara, Korydallos and Nikaia by 2019, Transport Minister Christos Spirtzis said on Wednesday during a visit to the Maniatika area of Piraeus where the tunnel boring machine extending the metro's route is to start excavating.

Transport Minister Christos Spirtzis finally approved the extension of the Athens International Airport concession contract late on Friday, after a tense week during which he tried to introduce a law amendment imposing a levy on transit flight passengers in favor of the Civil Aviation Authority.

The sell-off of a 30 percent stake in Athens International Airport has been put on ice for the time being, as authorities do not want to see the sale coincide with the extension of AIA's concession contract.

Aegean Motorway, the highway construction and operation consortium that the Infrastructure Ministry had said would not get any fresh funds given that its project (on the Athens-Thessaloniki national road) was advanced enough, is after all recieving additional money set to total tens of millions of euros.

Transport Minister Christos Spirtzis has ordered an administrative investigation into why hundreds of passengers remained trapped in trains in northern Greece on Wednesday in the freezing weather.

Following a decision by Transport Minister Christos Spirtzis, the homeless will be able to sleep at three central Athens metro stations - Omonia, Monastiraki and Metaxourgeio - which will stay open around the clock for the third week in a row due to freezing overnight temperatures.

If necessary, the measure will be enforced again, the minister said.