The activation of the natural gas distribution network in the city of Kavala was announced today by the managing director of DEDA, Francesca Zanninotti and the deputy governor of Energy and Environment of the Region of Eastern Macedonia-Thrace, Christos Gakis.

The €6.4 million project, which is co-financed by DEDA funds and resources from the Public Investment Program – Operational Program Eastern Macedonia and Thrace (ESPA 2014-2020), is, as DEDA points out, an important milestone for the provision of affordable and clean energy to the residents of Kavala. The first consumer connections will take place in mid-October, in time to cover a significant portion of residents’ energy needs for the coming winter.

Kavala is now the fifth city in the Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace to be connected to natural gas, after Alexandroupolis, Drama, Xanthi and Komotini, while Orestiada will soon be added. In total, investments in these six cities amount to 44 million euros, with the construction of 496 kilometers of network and more than 11,500 consumer connections from the residential, commercial and industrial sectors.

“This network, leveraging the expertise of the Italgas Group and maintaining the highest standards, is not only about natural gas – it is designed to host renewable gases such as biomethane and synthetic methane and will be future ready to embrace the potential of hydrogen said Ms. Zanninotti.

DEDA and the involved local authorities also emphasized that the project will change the lives of the residents of Kavala for the better, while at the same time supporting businesses, ensuring a sustainable result for the local community and the environment.

Mr. Gakis noted that a very large and important infrastructure project is being launched, which gives households and businesses access to cheap and clean energy.

For his part, the governor of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Christos Metios, welcomed the opening of the network with his statement: “Today, when the Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace is developing into an energy hub, it would be unfair to the societies of our region not to they can take advantage of the advantages of natural gas. The financing by the NSRF of our Region of the project to develop natural gas networks in six cities -Drama, Kavala, Xanthi, Komotini, Alexandroupolis and Orestiada- and the start of construction of the project, was the result of years of systematic effort, both by our Region and by the DEDA and the Ministry of Environment and Energy”.