Government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis referred to the new buses with anti-pollution technology supplied by OASA and put into circulation today
opening his briefing to the press on Monday. “The government’s will is to invest in the public transport is a given and the new buses that are already appearing in the streets of Athens prove exactly this will, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis emphasized during his visit on Monday to the OASA depot in Koropi. The improvement of citizens’ everyday life in all sectors is a priority for the government, which is why we are investing almost 2 billion euros in the overall program to upgrade public transport”, stressed Marinakis.
Afterwards, Marinakis pointed out that the European Commission announced the start of production of the 12 new Canadair DHC 515 firefighting aircraft that will form the permanent European forest firefighting fleet, rescEU. “The aircraft will be permanently stationed in Greece, Croatia, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain. Greece will procure a total of seven new Canadairs, five of which will replace the old CL-215s of the national fleet and two through the European rescEU mechanism. It is estimated that the seven new Canadairs will cost a total of more than 400 million euros, with most of the resources coming from the “Aegis” program, while part of the costs will be covered by European funds. The first aircraft are expected to be delivered by the end of 2027. The new Canadairs are a significant upgrade of the existing model as they are supplied faster even in adverse weather conditions and will have the ability to operate even during night hours, while they will be able to carry up to seven tons of water, that is, 15% more.
Civil Protection, during a climate crisis and extreme conditions, will acquire a new tool, which will even more effectively support firefighters, members of the armed forces and volunteer forest firefighters in the field,” he said.
Concluding, he pointed out that on Tuesday the Prime Minister will travel to Thessaloniki, where he will have meetings with productive entities of the city and representatives of the local authority.