Greece plans to merge hundreds of small companies water supplyas the government is facing the deteriorating drought that has brought the tanks that supply Athens to the lowest level of the last three decades, a Bloomberg agency reports in today’s report. More than 700 water supply companies, mainly controlled by municipalities, will be merged into three to improve the management of this significant resource, a source source told the international agency. The existing companies for Athens and Thessaloniki – The EYDAP and the EYATH – They will extend their coverage, while a third body will take responsibility for the rest of the country, said the source that spoke on the condition of anonymity, as the plan has not yet been made public.

At the same time, the Bloomberg adds, the government will set up a new fund that will contribute to the financing of dams, desalination units and other investment to ensure water safety, she said. Attica and Crete will acquire water scarcity status to accelerate the new projects, the source said.

The prime minister’s office Kyriakou Mitsotakis He told Bloomberg that he would chair at a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the national water plan.

According to the international agency, this series of measures is coming as Greece is experiencing a heat wave that raises temperatures in the mainland up to 43 degrees Celsius this week. Water reserves for 4.4 million people in the capital and wider Attica region have been reduced for three consecutive years due to heat and low rainfall.

Europe is Epirus that is heated faster in the world, while countries around the Mediterranean are among the countries more at risk of drought. This threatens the tourism and agricultural sector of Greece, as extreme weather events, including floods due to strong thunderstorms, are burdened by the country’s old infrastructure, adding Bloomberg.

There are currently 1,327 water supply projects in Greece, which require investments of more than € 5 billion, said the source in Bloomberg. Since 2019, 278 water management projects have already been carried out of EUR 356.4 million, the same source added.

The three water companies will remain under state control, but the government plans to change the way EYDAP and EYATH operate to make them more effective, the source said, adding that recruitment procedures would be rationalized, while the government wants to attract executives from the private sector.

The final plan has not yet been announced and proposals may be modified, Bloomberg concludes.