The borders of Greece and Turkey are changing shape - Where the most modern border station is being built

Greece is one of the main entry gates to the European Union from the East, with thousands of passenger and commercial vehicles passing through the country's land border stations every year.

The ever-increasing traffic, combined with stricter control and security requirements, make it necessary to create more modern and functional infrastructure at the crossing points.

In this context, the upgrading of the Kipoi Border Station in Evros is progressing, a project with a budget of 13 million euros and considered the largest land border project currently being implemented in the country.

The progress of the works was observed closely by the Coordinator of the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of Evros, Lieutenant General (ret.) Georgios Kellis, during his visit to the construction site on June 4. According to the information he received from the project managers, the works are proceeding according to schedule and are making significant progress.

The contractor of the project is TEK Thessaloniki S.A., with the relevant contract having been signed in July 2025, while the financing comes from the Ministry of Interior, with the implementation being coordinated by the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia-Thrace.

The upgrade of the station provides for the separation of passenger and commercial traffic, the creation of new traffic lanes to decongest the crossings and the construction of modern customs, veterinary and phytosanitary control facilities.

At the same time, new special infrastructures are included such as the X-Ray building, the Narc Control building for vehicle inspections, an area for working dogs and ISOBOX facilities, while energy upgrading of the existing buildings is also planned.

Regarding the progress of the works, the foundation of the new X-Ray building has already been completed, while the construction of the Narc Control building is underway along with the accompanying vehicle inspection facilities. At the same time, road construction works continue and the next phases of excavations are being prepared.

In parallel with the new constructions, renovation works are also underway in the existing areas of the Kipon Customs. The aim is to improve working conditions and enhance the operational efficiency of a station that serves a large volume of transits daily.

The project is even more important due to the implementation of the new European Entry/Exit System (EES), which became fully operational at the external borders of the European Union in April 2026.

The new system electronically records the entries and exits of third-country nationals travelling to the Schengen area for stays of up to 90 days and requires the collection of biometric data at the first crossing, replacing the manual stamping of passports.

The implementation of the EES has significantly increased the processing time of checks, causing in several cases long queues and delays at the Evros border posts.

This situation may become even worse towards the end of 2026, when the activation of the EES system is expected, which will add the obligation of electronic pre-authorisation of travel.

For this reason, the upgrade of the Gardens is considered critical for the future smooth operation of the country's most important land gateway to Turkey.