Main points in bill that also calls for 80 more national parks
The new zoning bill recommends support for the type of development model that focuses on two urban centers (Athens and Thessaloniki), five major national centers (Patras, Larissa-Volos, Ioannina, Iraklion-Hania and Komotini-Alexandroupolis), and six secondary centers (Corfu, Kozani-Ptolemaida, Lamia, Tripolis, Kavala and Kalamata). The five major highways are referred to as the main areas of development (Ionia, Athens-Thessaloniki, eastern and western Peloponnese, and the F65, the Egnatia Highway and the northern artery of Crete). There is also a proposal to upgrade the Lamia-Itea-Mafissa-Antirio-Patras axis. The main development priorities include new ports on the islands at some distance from traditional settlements and the renovation of existing ports, the gradual transfer of coastal shipping services from Piraeus to Rafina and Lavrion, the modification and upgrade of the port of Alexandroupolis as a tanker ship terminus and new refineries in the area. It also provides for 80 more protected areas to be designated as national parks by 2013.
