- The Ministry of Infrastructure approved up to 97 million euros in compensation for the VOAK “Hersonissos-Neapoli” section.
- The payout is due to a 447-day delay caused by the state’s failure to hand over construction sites on time.
- The project’s completion date has been pushed from 2027 to 2029, just in time for the next decade.
Just when you thought the Northern Road Axis of Crete (VOAK) couldn’t become a more expensive exercise in bureaucratic choreography, Athens has managed to surprise us once again.
The Ministry of Infrastructure has approved up to €97 million in compensation for the consortium building the Hersonissos–Neapoli section after admitting it was 447 days late handing over the construction sites. That’s right: the state delayed the project, the contractor waited, and now the public gets to finance the inconvenience. It’s almost poetic.
The compensation goes to Pasiphae Odos S.A., the special-purpose company controlled by GEK TERNA and AKTOR, which is building the section through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP). The company originally asked for €155.75 million, citing everything from payroll and site overheads to disruption costs and financing expenses. After reviews by independent auditors and ministry experts, officials settled on a more modest—but still eye-watering—€97,009,450.
The ministry insists the payment only covers the contractor’s “actual damages” resulting from the delay. Salaries, insurance contributions, construction-site operations, equipment maintenance, guarantees, and insurance made the cut. Financial costs and expected profits did not. Apparently, someone in Athens remembered that private investors are supposed to assume some business risk.
Meanwhile, the construction schedule quietly slipped into the future.
The section that was supposed to become operational on 21 April 2027 is now expected to be ready on 11 July 2028, with the completion date pushed back to 11 July 2029.
For those keeping score at home, that’s another year and three months added to a project already famous for moving deadlines the way tourists move beach towels before sunrise.
And yes, this is the same road expected to connect efficiently with the new Kastelli International Airport, itself one of Crete’s largest infrastructure investments. Airports, however impressive, have a curious habit of working best when travelers can actually reach them without navigating an obstacle course of unfinished highways.
PASOK MP Eleni Vatsina accused the government of celebrating yet another costly delay while ordinary Cretans foot the bill. Her argument is difficult to dismiss: taxpayers finance the overruns today and, if current plans hold, may eventually pay tolls to drive on the very road they have already financed several times over.
Crete has become remarkably good at inaugurating announcements instead of infrastructure. Press conferences arrive on time. Construction deadlines, less so.
At this rate, the only thing moving faster than VOAK’s budget is its completion date—always one more year into the future.