The inclusion in the NSRF of the extension of the Ionian Road, and in particular in the section Ioannina-Kakavia, was announced by the Deputy Minister of National Economy and Finance, Nikos Papathanasis.

In particular, according to the relevant act issued by the General Secretariat for the Management of Sectoral Programmes of the European Regional Development Fund, Cohesion Fund, and European Social Fund, the project "Extension of the Ionian Road, Sect. Ioannina-KKakavia" is included in the sectoral program of the Ministry of National Economy and Finance "Transport 2021-2027,"  with the Special Service for Public Works Construction and Maintenance of Transport Infrastructures as a beneficiary and a budget of €289,2 million. 

The project concerns the construction of the road axis Ioannina-KKakavia from the junction of the Ionian Road with Egnatia (A/K Egnatia) to Kakavia and the Greek-Albanian border and includes two subsections:

Subsection 1: Ioannina-KKalpaki. Starting at the Egnatia interchange and ending at the end of the Kalpaki interchange and a total length of 46.40 km on a new alignment. The subsection includes six on-grade junctions.

Subsection 2: Kalpaki-Kakavia. Starting at the end of the Kalpaki interchange and ending at the Kakavia border station and a total length of 23.11 km, where the upgrading of the existing road is foreseen. The subsection includes six on-grade junctions.

The operation also includes all the necessary supporting actions: expropriations, relocations, rehabilitation of and connections to the OSS networks, and archaeological investigations and works.

With the completion of the project, it is expected that accessibility and connectivity problems of geographically isolated and inaccessible areas of the wider Ioannina P.E. will be addressed, such as:

• The burden on the city of Ioannina with heavy vehicle traffic as well as through traffic entering the wider urban fabric of the city.
• The increased road safety risk is due to the transition from a modern high-speed and long modern motorway, such as the Ionian Road, to a semi-urban road network with level junctions.
• The difficulty of accessibility of the wider area of the Ioannina region to important poles of health services, such as the University Hospital of Ioannina, education, such as the University of Ioannina, and employment, such as the Industrial Area of Ioannina, is a major problem.