Environment Minister Yiannis Maniatis and Athens Mayor George Kaminis announced on Tuesday that construction will begin on a 27-kilometre cycle route spanning Athens from north to south.

The Metropolitan Cycle Path, as it is called, is due to be completed by the end of 2015. It will start off in Kifissia and continue through the city centre and Gazi, to end in Faliro.

The first phase of the constructions includes the 11-km-long Gazi-Faliro section, which has already been contracted out at a cost of 2.2 million euros. Regarding the northern section from Gazi to Kifissia, which has an estimated cost of 9.0 million euros, all the relative studies have been completed and the tender will soon be ratified.

“This is a crucial intervention for urban transport, which aims at making Athens livable for all citizens,” Environment Minister Yiannis Maniatis said. He also noted that sustainable urban mobility is a top priority of the government.

Kaminis noted that this intervention is part of a “battle to win back public spaces”. He also stressed the need to deal with the problem of illegal parking, improve road quality and provide cycle-parking facilities. It should be noted that the announcement was made in the framework of European Mobility Week.