Kentriki Odos is the Concession Company which has undertaken the study, design, construction, operation, exploitation and maintenance of the “Aftokinitodromos Kentrikis Ellados – E65” Concession Project.
This project, with a total length of 231 km, is of strategic importance for the development of the country and its purpose is to construct Aftokinitodromos Kentrikis Ellados (E65), from A.Th.E semi-I/C near Thermopiles I/C, to Egnatia I/C after Oksinia (total length of 174 km) and to manage and maintain A.Th.E section from Skarfia to Raches (total length of 57 km).
E65 motorway disposes the necessary capacity of a modern 2-lane motorway in each direction and crosses the plain of Fthiotida, the Othrys mountain, the Thessaly plain and Penaeus river passing near the city of Karditsa, Trikala, Kalampaka to the foothills of Antichassia, Ion river and mountains of Chasia to be eventually connected with Egnatia Odos in the forest area of Pindos. This is one of the most important national projects of particular strategic importance for the development of the country and the region, entirely constructed on new alignment and actually connects Eastern Greece to Western Greece. The design is based on contemporary national and European standards, with respect to the natural and human environment, aiming at safety and ease of users and to ensure maximum time and fuel saving. Worth mentioning is that, upon completion of the construction works, the journey from Lamia to Egnatia will take 1 hour and 30 minutes instead of 2 hours and 30 minutes today.
At present, the section of E65 from Xyniada (32 km) to Trikala (112 km) is fully operational. These 80 km, of a high standards safe motorway, in combination with the 10 km connecting branch with the existing Lamia-Karditsa axis, have transformed the trips from Athens to Trikala, Karditsa, Kalampaka and to all the popular tourist destinations of Western and Central Thessaly. A major improvement for all drivers is that they can bypass Domokos area and reduce their trip duration to Trikala and Karditsa by more than 30 minutes
At the same time, the South section of E65, from A.Th.E (0km) to Xyniada (32 km) is under construction. The works proceed rapidly and in strict accordance with the timetable submitted to all competent authorities. In more details, in May 2021 overall construction progress reaches 70,3%, while proceeding to a more detailed analysis, bridges and technicals 81,3% , the pavements 65,3% and groundworks 54,8%.
Motorway section from Skarfia to Raches has resolved the major problem of road safety at Petalo of Maliakos. Now, all users will drive on a modern motorway of high standards, with two (2) traffic lanes per direction, an Emergency Lane (LEA), three (3) twin-branch tunnels, five (5) viaducts and high-quality infrastructure.