The completion of the Recovery Fund should not be accompanied by a widening of the investment gap, which today is estimated at up to 8 billion euros annually, as stated yesterday by the CEO of TERNA, Mr. Christos Panagiotopoulos, at the 9th Infrastructure and Transport Conference (ITC 2026), speaking at the “construction roundtable”.
In recent years, construction companies were called upon to implement a particularly demanding project program, often under adverse conditions, with shortcomings in the maturity of studies, delays, and extremely tight timetables. “They were relentlessly whipped in order to complete major public works on time,” he noted characteristically.
Compared with the past, the production value of the construction sector has more than doubled, while it is estimated that by 2030 projects worth 10 billion euros will mature or begin to be executed. However, these projects are not sufficient to cover the country’s real needs.
As Mr. Panagiotopoulos stated, there remains an annual investment deficit of 6 to 8 billion euros, while the total needs for new infrastructure projects after the prolonged economic crisis are estimated at 40 to 50 billion euros. In this context, the new national development program, amounting to 23 billion euros, plays a critical role. What is sought, however, is not only the amount of available resources, but also the effectiveness with which they will be channeled into the real economy.
And while public investments in Greece have approached the European Union average in recent years, private investments continue to lag significantly - by about 4 to 4.5 percentage points compared with the European average. For this reason, as Mr. Panagiotopoulos stressed, a move away from the traditional model of “public works” is required, so that planning and construction are inextricably linked to their long-term operation and maintenance.
At the same time, “the Standard Proposals should be activated, which will allow companies to formulate mature proposals for infrastructure projects”.
Referring to the sector’s challenges, Mr. Panagiotopoulos sounded the alarm over the lack of specialized human resources and the continuous rise in construction costs. Another major challenge is the effective management of water resources: from collection and storage to water supply, irrigation, and flood protection. This is because water losses remain extremely high in several areas of the country, such as Lefkada, where it is estimated that 60%-65% of the water is lost through leaks.
Mr. Panagiotopoulos also focused on the financial strength of the GEK TERNA Group, noting that it is the only Greek non-financial company to have received investment grade from two leading international rating agencies, Moody’s and S&P. “And this allows us to borrow cheaply,” he concluded.