Road Network
Ionia Odos
The Region of Western Greece has a strategic geographical position as it connects the prefecture of Peloponnese with Central Greece and Epirus. In 2017, a breath-taking project was completed for the area, namely the Athens-Patras highway with a length of 235 km.
In addition, the city of Patras is connected, with Athens and Thessaloniki through Olympia Odos, while, Antirio is connected with Ioannina through the Ionia Odos.
In addition, the completion of the Rio - Antirio Bridge constitutes one of the most important road infrastructure projects in the region, , which is crossed by approximately 10,500 vehicles every day, and has greatly contributed to the connectivity between Peloponnese and Central Greece.
In addition to the highway project, the Region of Western Greece is composed of a national network of 895 km and a provincial network of 3,520 km .
The completion of Amvrakia Odos, the connection of the Nautical Industrial Area (NA.VI.PE). with Ionia Odos and the Pyrgos - Patras highway (which is estimated to lead to an increase in GDP by € 88 million per year, according to the Pissaridis report)- are projects (public investments) that are expected to strongly motivate the growth in the region.
Olympia Odos
Airports
There are two civil airports in the Region of Western Greece, in Aktio (in Aetolia- Acarnania) and in Araxos (in Achaea).
Aktio Airport is 4 km away from the city of Preveza and 20km away from Lefkada. Since 2015, this has been under the management of Fraport. In the near future, the company is expected to proceed to:
- Expansion by 2,381 m2 and terminal’s renovation
- Installation of "HBS inline screening" system for luggage control
- Reorganization of the aircraft parking area
- Renovation of the roadway in the landing-take-off-parking areas
- 75% increase in Check-in stations (from 8 to 14)
- 60% increase in the total number of portals (from 5 to 8)
- Doubling of airport security and control points (from 2 to 4)
Araxos Airport is 45 km away from the city of Patras and 46 km away from the port of Kyllini. The airport total area of 2,300 sq.m. The airport is composed of the main terminal and 5 aircraft parking spaces.
The most important airport is that of Aktio, as it serves the areas of Southern Epirus, the Ionian Islands, Aitolia-Acarnania and Achaea. It is noted that both airports are exclusively for passengers and are not used for container transport.
In total, the airports of the Region of Western Greece served 719,804 passengers, in 2018, ranking the Region in 7th place among the 13 Regions, in terms of the number of passengers. The passenger traffic figures, at the airports of the Region of Western Greece recorded an increase by 20%,from 2016 to 2018. Araxos airport experienced the largest increase (40%), while Aktio airport experienced a lower increase (14%).
The figures for international arrivals, at the airports mentioned above, are presented in the table below: Number of International Arrivals at the Airports of RWG
|
Airport |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
|
Aktio |
226,308 |
270,704 |
280,580 |
|
Araxos |
63,702 |
76,931 |
90,849 |
|
Total |
290,010 |
347,635 |
371,429 |
In the Regional Unit of Ilia, there is a currently an inactive airport, the airport of Epitalio. The airport was never used for commercial or passenger use as it was given for use to the Hellenic Armed Forces until 2010. The operation of the airport of Epitalio is among the recognized investment opportunities of RWG and is reflected in detail in the section "Investment Portfolio" of RWG.
Ports
Port of Patras
The major port of the Region of Western Greece is the port of Patras, which is the country's gateway to Adriatic and Western Greece and constitutes the most important terminal point for transports to Western Europe, while at the same time, it is a major gateway for tourism, in the RWG and in the rest of Greece
Number of Foreign Passengers, Port of Patras 2016-2019
Another important passenger port of the area is the port of Kyllini, which serves the connections with the Ionian Islands (Kefalonia, Zakynthos). Its full potential could be developed through the completion of the Patras-Pyrgos connection through the Olympia Odos and the upgrade of the Pyrgos-Tsakonas network.
The port of Katakolo is a special tourist port and primarily serves the cruise tourism sector, being one of the most important ports in the country. The port of Katakolo is linked to the recently developed railway connection with the city of Pyrgos and Ancient Olympia, thus contributing to a complete and highly competitive tourism product.
The port of Astakos is a well-equipped freight port, lacking adequate road or rail connection, currently looking for investors.
Railroad network
In the summer of 2020, the double line connecting Kiato with Aigio was inaugurated, while, the electric train will arrive to the city center and the port of Patras, when it reaches its final form. The project is expected to be completed by 2023, connecting the Region and the port of Patras, with the national railway network.
The connection of Patras with the railway network is mentioned in the Pissaridis report, pointing out that the connection of the city of Patras (and especially the connection of the port of Patras) with the national network, is expected to stimulate the supply chain and the transport of goods within the country.