Corinth Canal will temporarily reopen for three months on Monday, July 4, to accomodate summer maritime traffic, said Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Friday.
The premier was speaking after his crossing of the canal to inspect progress of restoration works that began after large scale landslides occured in November 2020 and again in January and February 2021.
"There has been no substantial intervention at Corinth Canal over the last 130 years," he noted, and he pointed out that it will close again in early October to allow for the second stage of the works.
In the summer of 2023, he added, the canal will reopen for four months, and the project will be completed in 2023, including the restored section.
At a budget of 32 mln euros, noted government officials, the restoration project is being carried out in two stages; first was the slope relief work and the cleaning of the canal by July this year, and the second stage of harbor work to stabilize the base of the slopes, starting in autumn 2022.
Mitsotakis was accompanied by several ministers and regional officials during his visiting of the Corinth Canal.
"We intervened at the right time, and finished the studies in record time, for a very difficult project," Deputy Infrastructure Minister Giorgos Karagiannis said, briefing the prime minister along with Aktor construction company's managing director Christos Panagiotopoulos.