European Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Cretu said on Wednesday the EU will fund with 121 million euros a motorway connecting the Aktio peninsula to the Ionia highway, a key transport section serving Western Greece.

The announcement came during a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Yiannis Dragasakis, as part of her three-day official visit to Greece.

This motorway, which will run from Aktio to the Lake Amvrakia area and connect to the newly opened Ionia motorway, will ensure smoother travels in Western Greece as well as to and from the Rio-Antirrio bridge, to the island of Lefkada and to the Aktio aiport.

Once works are completed in 2022, the travel time on this TEN-T section will be 30 minutes shorter, and road safety will significantly improve.

The EU already invested 83 million euros in the first phase of the project, in the 2007-2013 budget period.

This article was first published by ekathimerini.com