Four Greek Ports Get EU Financing For Infrastructure Upgrades

Four Greek ports have secured EU financing for the implementation of significant infrastructure upgrades.

The major ports of Greece -Pireaus, Thessaloniki, Heraklion and Igoumenitsa– are to get upgrades using European funds, while a separate process is underway to optimize the infrastructure of a fifth port, the port of Alexandroupolis, due to its important geostrategic nature, AMNA reported on Sunday.

EU-funded improvement projects at major Greek ports

A total of six infrastructure improvement projects have been approved for EU financing from the Connecting Europe Facility 2021-2027 fund, according to AMNA.

Three of those projects will benefit the port of Piraeus. They include port facilities to provide electricity to ships using hybrid propulsion technology; digital technology for Just-in-Time (JIT) arrival; and the SMILE project for the use of digital data to promote sustainable logistics.

In the North of the country, the port of Thessaloniki has asked for financing to restore minimum depths and dock 6 infrastructure.

The port of Igoumenitsa, north-western Greece, will be building energy infrastructure to reduce its carbon footprint, including supplying electricity to ships docked in the port.

In the South, the port of Heraklion, on the island of Crete, has submitted a plan for improving its container terminal, and also for supplying electricity to ships which carry controlled temperature containers.

Port of Alexandroupolis set for revamp

As for the port of Alexandroupolis, in the north-east, an interministerial strategic investments’ committee will be in charge of a separate process to carry out essential infrastructural improvements.

The General Secretariat for Ports and Naval Investments has prepared a plan for restoring the minimum depths in the Alexandroupolis port channel, up to a distance of 2.5 km, so that big warships can dock.

Additional road works within the port area are expected to facilitate the transport of cargos. A highway is being constructed to link the port with the Egnatia Highway, and there are plans to optimise the port’s lighting with the use of LED lights.

A tender for the privatization of the state-owned port of Alexandroupolis, near the border with Turkey, was canceled in November, due to the port’s elevated geostrategic importance.