Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis attended the signing ceremony this afternoon for the programme agreement to build a new correctional facility in Megalopoli.
“Today is an important day because Megalopoli is not hearing another promise. It is seeing actual signatures,” the Prime Minister said.
“For the country, this investment addresses a longstanding problem: prison overcrowding, which we are tackling through the most extensive prison-building programme in decades. But for Megalopoli and your community, it will bring many jobs, both during construction and, of course, once the facility is operational,” Kyriakos Mitsotakis added.
According to reports, the new correctional facility will have capacity for up to 600 inmates, with different levels of security, and will introduce a new approach to the design and operation of correctional facilities in Greece. It will combine a general-purpose prison with a specialist workshop and agricultural facility on a single site, so that work, education, and agricultural and workshop activities can support inmates’ reintegration.
The correctional facility has a budget of €40 million and will be funded through the Special Programme for Just Development Transition 2021-2027. It will be built on a 124-hectare site within the lignite phase-out zone and will include prison wings, production units, visiting rooms, a medical centre, psychological support facilities, classrooms for education and training, a library, a computer room, administrative buildings, a kitchen, a place of worship and sports facilities.
The new correctional facility is expected to deliver better conditions of detention in line with European standards, ease overcrowding at existing facilities and create jobs during both construction and operation, helping to strengthen the local economy in the post-lignite era.
The agreement was signed by Deputy Minister of National Economy and Finance Nikos Papathanasis, Deputy Minister for Citizen Protection Giannis Lambropoulos, deputy chief executive of the national development fund Panos Stampoulidis and chief executive of Building Infrastructure SA Thanasis Giannaris. The Mayor of Megalopoli, Kostas Michopoulos, and the Most Reverend Metropolitan of Gortyn and Megalopolis, Nikiforos, also addressed the ceremony. Arcadia MP Kostas Vlassis and Peloponnese Regional Governor Dimitris Ptochos attended.
Industrial park and investment incentives for Megalopoli
The Prime Minister also referred to the announcement of plans to create an industrial park in Megalopoli. “Industry, which this government has supported, and manufacturing are crying out for new sites where productive investment can take place. The new spatial planning framework and the special plan for industry will direct new productive investment to designated sites. That is why the industrial park, the second major announcement we are making today, will be so important. And rest assured that, combined with the incentives we are offering for investment in Megalopoli, it will attract a great deal of investor interest,” Kyriakos Mitsotakis said.
“Who would have thought that Tripoli could become a hub for investment by the domestic pharmaceutical industry, which now meets needs not only in Greece but across Europe? There is no reason to think that something similar could not happen here in Megalopoli,” he added.
“Where we used to mine lignite, we will now produce food”
The Prime Minister also highlighted investor interest in building hydroponic and aeroponic greenhouses in both Megalopoli and Western Macedonia, with support from a dedicated €80 million financing programme, of which €24 million is for Megalopoli.
“Our country continues to have a shortfall in a range of primary-sector products. So think about it: where we once mined lignite, we will now produce food — tomatoes, and perhaps other vegetables,” he said.
According to figures presented, funding allocated under the NSRF’s 2021-2027 Just Development Transition Programme (Megalopoli Territorial Plan), with a budget of €385.9 million, has reached 92%. A total of 122 investment plans have been approved, with grants of €213 million, helping to create 1,284 new jobs.
Meanwhile, under the special Just Development Transition Programme of the National Development Programme seven projects worth €55 million are being rolled out in the municipalities of Megalopoli and Tripoli, including a €3.5 million swimming pool in Megalopoli, road projects and infrastructure for healthcare and social care.
In addition, projects worth about €64 million have been approved for the Peloponnese Region under Pillar III of the Just Transition Mechanism (EIB - European Commission/CINEA), of which €47.84 million is allocated to the Regional Unit of Arcadia. These include the Tripoli ring road (€19.84 million), the Dimitsana bypass (€7 million), a €15 million Centre for Creative Activities for neurodivergent children and children with autism, and a €6 million agricultural school.
“Today we have every reason to be more optimistic. You know very well that we are a government of action. We like to let our work speak for itself. Ultimately, all citizens judge us by our work,” Kyriakos Mitsotakis said.
SOURCE: AMNA