In opening remarks to online cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis began by offering a “personal and sincere apology to our fellow citizens that underwent hardship for many hours, trapped on Attiki Odos”.
“There are very clear responsibilities of the concessionaire for the way that it handled this latest snowstorm. These will be fully investigated based on existing laws but also the terms included in the relevant contracts with the public sector,” Mitsotakis stressed.
He noted that private companies that manage critical infrastructure for not inconsiderable profits have certain obligations, chief of which is to keep the roads in their care open.
This was the reason for the decision to immediately give 2,000 euros to the drivers that were trapped on Attiki Odos and to pay compensation to the TRAINOSE train passengers that were stranded, the prime minister added.
“I note that this is the first time that the state has taken action to provide relief through this process to our fellow citizens that suffered damages,” he said, pointing out that the provision for compensation was added to concession contracts in a law passed by the present government, irrespective of any private claims or public-sector actions in this regard.
Mitsotakis also conceded that the problems were not restricted to Attiki Odos and promised a thorough investigation of what went wrong, while thanking the armed forces and emergency services personnel for their efforts to assist the people trapped in the snow, as well as the repair crews struggling to restore power to areas where power lines were down.
“Every tree that severs a medium-voltage power line is a unique challenge, especially when these people have to contend with half a metre of snow. For the very few areas still without power, I ask the citizens’ patience and understanding. I think in this area we learned our lessons from ‘Medea’ and managed to restore power in a very short space of time,” he said.
CEO of Attiki Odos management company resigns after snowstorm debacle
Attikes Diadromes SA, the parent company of Attiki Odos SA, accepted the resignation of its Chief Executive Officer Vassileios Chalkias on Tuesday.
Chalkias began his statement by saying that the last few motorists have been freed from the Attiki Odos tolls motorway, where some 1,200 cars were stranded during the Elpis snowstorm that hit the country on Monday. Having served as the company’s CEO since 1999, Chalkias said he feels “honored to have headed the emblematic Attiki Odos project,” and wished all the best to his successor.
The company’s board appointed traffic manager Aristophanes Papadimitriou to assume Halkias’ duties until the due election of a new CEO.
Earlier on Tuesday the company said it would compensate motorists entrapped in Attiki Odos during Monday’s snowstorm.
SOURCE: AMNA
