Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister Thanassis Kontogeorgis on Friday commented on the North Road Axis of Crete (VOAK), the concession contract for the VOAK road section signed earlier the same day by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.  Kontogeorgis was part of the government delegation that visited Crete with the prime minister.
Speaking to the radio "Thema Kritis", he said that VOAK is a project that "we want to start soon" as well as being "an important project that Crete has long been waiting for." The fact that it had not implemented up until now, he added, "was also the result of an irrational planning that comes from the past: how you allocate resources, in what way, how you prioritise, is a part of regional development."
More specifically, as Kontogeorgis said, "VOAK is already being implemented in certain parts, a lot of resources have been committed, its financing was a difficult exercise. A synergy was needed because part of it is financed by the Recovery and Resilience Fund which ends in August 2026. So in order to secure the resources, we had to move quickly, and any preliminary work had to start quickly so that 15% to 20% was completed." 
Asked about the timetable for VOAK, he said that  "there is a different maturity and progress in the various parts," while noting that for the specific contract signed on Friday, it is about five years. "Certainly every effort will be made to move things along quickly," he added. At another point in the interview, he acknowledged that "the southern road axis is also important."