Ministry extends ‘green light’ for new 100-mln€ greater Athens area inter-city bus terminal

The government, now in a more-or-less “caretaker” mode, on Tuesday issued a final approval for a long-awaited project to build a new inter-city bus terminal serving the greater Athens-Piraeus area.

A relevant environment and energy ministry department provided its “green light” for environmental licenses needed for the new facility, which will be located in the Elaionas district, just southwest of downtown Athens. The new facility will be included in a massive property redevelopment project at the specific site, which includes a new state-of-the-art stadium for the Panathinaikos pro football team and other commercial and public venues.

The Elaionas site today is a gritty and poorly planned inner-city warehouse and trucking hub, with little residential and retail commercial appeal.

According to planning, the new bus facility is budgeted at more than 100 million euros, and will be implemented as a public-private sector investment, or, completed via a tendered concession.

If the latter option is chosen, then an international tender will be issued after the coming May 21 election.

The goal is to declare a preferred concessionaire by the end of this year.

The new transportation hub will be built on a plot of 6.64 hectares, all within the municipality of Egaleo, adjacent to the main north-south highway (Kifissos) running across the west end of the Athens-Piraeus urban agglomeration. It will serve both the inter-city bus network and coaches arriving and taking off for foreign destinations, and will replace the wholly outdated and lacking inter-city bus stations at the Kifissos highway and Liosion Street.