70 big infrastructure projects in Greece are waiting to be signed & start construction

In the midst of the auctioning of major projects, there has been a ‘halftime’ in recent months as ongoing projects have become filled with unexecuted tasks, affecting not only major conglomerates but also several technical firms holding qualifications of the 5th and 6th class.

The phenomenon of reducing the production of new projects appears to be rather beneficial until the construction sector can manage the much larger volume of ongoing projects. The “benefits” of this include competitions from 2021 to 2023 being completed with the necessary funding.

It is characteristic that competitions that began with funding from the Recovery Fund, such as the major infrastructure projects in the Ambracian region, were transferred to the ESIF 2021-2027 program for Environment and Climate Change due to a lack of time for implementation. This is just one example of several projects seeking financial instruments to proceed towards implementation.

Under the same operational program, a funding invitation of €60 million has been issued by Regions and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport to implement flood protection projects. Furthermore, as stated in the invitation, it “may (in the future) incorporate actions within the framework of this invitation using resource commitments up to a maximum total of €260 million.

This, however, does not mean that projects are slowing down, as there is so much ongoing competition for significant projects that will continue to feed technical firms with new projects for quite some time.

Which are the most important ongoing competitions

There are many significant projects in the competitive bidding phase, with a budget exceeding 3 billion euros. Topping the list are the restoration projects in Thessaly, with costs surpassing 1 billion euros (including railways, roads, and infrastructure repairs), prioritized over all other projects.

The most significant projects, Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), and concessions that were auctioned in 2023, as well as the competitions continued from previous years, both by the Ministry of Infrastructure and other entities (HRADF, Ministry of Rural Development, DEKO, etc.), were the following 28.

• Submarine Link Salamina-Perama
• BOAK: Chania-Hersonissos section
• Road Axis Thessaloniki-Edessa
• Road Axis Drama-Amphipolis
• Judicial Center Heraklion-Rethymno
• New Prisons in Aspropyrgos
• Five Police Stations
• Judicial Centers of Central Greece
• Student Residences in Western Macedonia
• New Courthouse and Prosecution Office in Athens
• Concession of Kalamata Airport
• Water Supply for the Island of Corfu (Phase B and C)
• Irrigation Project for Water Distribution in the Xanthi Plain
• Irrigation Networks of Larissa Prefecture to Karditsa Prefecture
• New Building for the General Secretariat of Infrastructure on Piraeus Street
• New Courthouses in Edessa, Serres, Kilkis, and the Reconstruction of the Courthouse in Thessaloniki
• 13 Regional Civil Protection Centers (project divided into two clusters)
• 17 School Complexes in Central Macedonia
• 13 School Complexes in Rhodes
• Student Residences at the Universities of Thrace, Thessaly, and Crete
• Maintenance and Operation of Thrassio II Landfill. This concerns a concession tender.
• Enipeas Dam in Farsala
• Double Dam of Tavronitis
• Minagiotiko Dam in Messinia
• Irrigation Networks of TOEB Tavropou
• Waste Treatment Unit in Schisto
• Waste Treatment Unit in Fyli

The public projects

Meanwhile, other significant public projects, the tenders of which are in progress, are also noteworthy. We have identified 39 major projects, which are:

• Yalova Bypass
• Attiki Odos: Expansion of Kymi Avenue
• Vertical Axis of Egnatia, Xanthi-Borders: Melivoia-Dimario section
• Waste Treatment Unit in Rhodes
• Extension of Metro Line 2 towards Ilioupoli
• Ground Improvement Works in Ambracia-Aetolia-Acarnania-Valtos
• Water Supply in Preveza-Arta-Lefkada
• Brahamianos Dam
• Water Supply for the Island of Corfu
• Water Supply for the city of Florina from the Triantafyllia Dam
• Ionian Highway: Ioannina-Kalpaki-Kakavia section
• Undergrounding of TOEB Gastouni in Ilia
• Waste Treatment Unit in Larissa
• Waste Treatment Unit in Hydra
• Waste Treatment Unit in Tinos
• Waste Treatment Unit in Santorini
• Waste Treatment Unit in Volos
• Waste Treatment Unit in the Eastern Sector of Central Macedonia
• Waste Treatment Unit in Achaea
• Waste Treatment Unit in Kavala
• Waste Treatment Unit in Naxos
• Completion of the 6th Pier at Thessaloniki Port
• Reservoir at Chochlakia-Dam of Agios Ioannis in Lasithi
• Industrial Area of Rafina-Pikermiou-Spata
• Sewerage System for the Municipality of Spata-Artemida
• Flood Protection Works in Nea Makri
• Lamia-Karpenissi Axis: Makrakomi-Tymfristos Section
• Irrigation System of Almopia in Pella
• Kelefina Dam in Laconia
• Tsiknia Dam in Lesvos
• Natural Gas Extension to Argos-Nafplio
• Sewerage Works in Settlements of Marathon Municipality
• Sewerage Network of Evrostini-Xylokastro
• Natural Gas Pipeline Nea Mesimvria-Geugeli
• Botanical Garden Redevelopment Works
• Infrastructure Works at the former Royal Estate of Tatoi
• Upgrade of Infrastructure at Alexandroupoli Port
• Sewerage System – Sewage of Mornos, Municipality of Dorida
• Infrastructure Works at the Botanical Garden

The above volume is indicative as there are many more projects, and we must not forget that the pipeline of private projects has also opened up, such as those in Elliniko for new large building projects (Vouliagmenis Mall, Riviera Galleria, Sports Facilities, Metropolitan Park, etc.), investments in data centres in Attica, hotel investments, power plants, interconnections, etc., significantly increasing the number of large projects awaiting contractors to over 70.

Market factors noted on ypodomes.com indicate that it will take a considerable amount of time for all these tenders to be completed and for all these projects to be implemented, given the shortage of tens of thousands of workers, estimated up to 200,000 individuals. In this field, it seems that the only solution is the introduction of workers and craftsmen, who constitute the largest number of people who are short of human resources in the construction sector.

As the market gradually absorbs the above-mentioned scope, we will proceed with further projects that are being prepared as the NSRF 2021-2027 progresses or other forms such as NSRF and concessions already being prepared. Some of the most significant ones include the concession of the 22 regional airports, railway projects such as Thessaloniki-Promachonas, Alexandroupoli-Ormeneio, Kavala-Xanthi, SKA-Oinoi, extensions of the Attiki Odos, projects to address climate change, etc.