Benitses bypass: five years on, still at the study stage

The long-standing issue of the Benitses bypass has been brought back before Parliament by Corfu MP and secretary of the PASOK Parliamentary Group, Dimitris Biangis, who is calling on four ministries to take action to complete the outstanding studies and secure funding for the project.

The question is addressed to the Ministers of Infrastructure and Transport, Development, National Economy and Finance, and the Interior, and follows a meeting between the MP and representatives of social organisations and local councils in South Corfu.

Biangis raised the same issue in a parliamentary question in July 2021, arguing that he had not received a substantive response from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport at the time. Five years later, the project remains at the study and preparatory stage.

According to the new parliamentary question, the project requires existing studies to be updated and the remaining specialised studies to be completed. Their cost is estimated at €1,720,209.90, while, according to the MP, the Ionian Islands Regional Authority is unable to undertake their completion.

The bypass is considered crucial to the road connection between Corfu Town and South Corfu, as a large proportion of traffic heading towards the southern part of the island currently passes through Benitses. The situation becomes particularly difficult during the tourist season, affecting traffic, everyday life in the area and access to South Corfu.

Through his intervention, Biangis is seeking specific answers on whether the Ministry of Infrastructure intends to take over the studies so that the project can reach the necessary level of readiness, which funding programme could subsequently cover its construction, and, above all, what the specific timetable is for moving the bypass from the study stage to implementation.

GIORGOS KATSAITIS