Flagship projects and more that have been underway will not be interrupted as several new ones will be required due to the “Daniel” storm. This was clarified by Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Christos Staikourasin the context of the 6th Infrastructure and Transport Conference-ITC 2023.

At the same time, he pointed out the need for the public and private sectors to take their share of responsibility, in order to cope together with the special conditions. “The projects will therefore be carried out but we all have to rise to the occasion and execute them in the best possible way within schedules and within budget,” he said.

In particular, the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport emphasized that the projects will be executed but, as he added, there are always challenges, which we must face with realism and responsibility. As he pointed out: “There are exogenous challenges, such as the macroeconomic environment, inflation, accuracy, manufacturing costs, the problem of finding human capital, expropriation issues and other challenges and difficulties.”

Although Mr. Staikouras was in favor of the profitability of businesses, he nevertheless emphasized that in extraordinary circumstances the private sector must also participate in sharing the cost of implementing the projects. As he noted: “In extraordinary circumstances, the burden cannot be borne by the taxpayer alone. THE State it must strengthen the private sector with permanent interventions, but in crises it also needs the contribution of the private sector, which can affect its profitability in the short term. So let’s take our share of responsibility and act responsibly in the face of new challenges.”

The Minister of Infrastructure and Transport noted that the resources will be found, but they will be as many as are necessary to implement the projects, as they must be used in a rational way and properly distributed.

“We will not take funds from the projects, which are already running to build new projects in Thessaly. We will ensure those who are needed, so that we can implement the right projects, which must be done in Greece”, added Mr. Staikouras.

In addition, he exemplified the flexibility given to Recovery and Resilience Fund for the utilization of 600 million euros exclusively by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, for projects in the region which do not affect the country’s deficit.

As the minister explained, the new program period gives the possibility for about 1.5 billion euros additional from the NSRF, for new projects outside Thessaly or in Thessaly, which will be selected, while he also reminded the possibility of obtaining a loan from the European Bank Investments of 750 million euros to restore infrastructure from natural disasters, noting, however, that we should have exhausted all other resources first.

Finally, Mr. Staikouras repeated the political initiative of his political leadership Ministry of Financethe last year and a half, for the issuance of a green bond, which will have the characteristics of project implementation, which the country needs.