As a…pre-Christmas present, ministers will receive at the ministerial council meeting on December 23 at the Maximos Mansion the famous “blue envelopes” with the strategic priorities of their ministries, the annual action plans in other words.

According to protothema.gr information, these will include 150 reform policies and a total of 170 projects across the spectrum, which are being finalized these days by State Minister, Akis Skertsos, in the presidency of the government.

One of the first major projects to be launched in 2025 is “My House 2”, which has been announced for months, but will be “unlocked” in January with the issuance of the relevant Joint Ministerial Decision. It will be recalled that this program enables couples or people between 25 and 50 years old with certain income criteria to acquire their own home through subsidized loans.

In the same framework for the implementation of affordable housing projects, the previously announced “Social Counterpart” project is also included. The object of the project is the utilization of public properties for the provision of low-rent housing. Specifically, the project involves the construction of 2,500 houses for 5,000 beneficiary young people up to 39 years of age and their disposal as affordable housing, applying either rent to own or rent to buy as a disposal model. For the public sector, this project has zero cost, will be implemented by the Ministry of Social Cohesion and Family in cooperation with the local DIPAs and is estimated to be completed by the end of 2027.

The government’s priorities also include the construction of student halls, a project that will proceed at both the University of Crete and the University of Thessaly. According to the schedule, the contractor will have to be selected by September 2025 in order for the project to begin.

Hospitals and public works

At the same time, the government will “run” more intensively the program of interventions in buildings and public works. In the health sector, by the end of 2025, the completion of the renovation and modernization projects of 40 Hospitals and 58 NIS hospitals’ emergency departments is expected. The program covers a total of 96 hospitals in the country.

As for the urban buses of Athens, the plan provides for the supply of 300 anti-pollution buses that will circulate on the streets by the end of 2025. Still, next September, in the context of the second tender for electromobility, a notice is expected to be issued for the supply of an additional 700 public transport buses with anti-pollution technology.

In addition, the Commission will also announce a further tender for the purchase of additional bus transport equipment for the replacement of the existing bus fleet.

For major public works, 2025 is expected to be the inauguration year of the National Road Patras-Pyrgos. In this project, the 75…much-used kilometers will be delivered by the end of the year. 2025 will also be a year of developments for the Castelli International Airport in Crete, with the project involving all the necessary surveys, studies, construction, systems and equipment for its operation. The airport, once operational, will replace the current operational Heraklion International Airport “N. Kazantzakis” located in the area of Alikarnassos. The terminal under construction will have an area of 90,000 sq.m. By the end of 2025, 70% of the construction of the project is expected to be completed.

In addition, 28 improvement interventions in regional ports of islands and areas with developed tourism activity are completed by the end of the year.

IB in schools

In July 2025 the Ministry of Education is expected to introduce the International Baccalaureate in public schools on a pilot basis. At that time the relevant law will come before Parliament, and from September 2026 the new system will be implemented in 5 model schools.

In September 2019, the new system will be introduced in five five school systems in five European schools.

As part of the National Strategy for Persons with Disabilities, accessibility interventions will be implemented on a pilot level in 100 buildings by December 2025, with full accessibility by 2030. Also, disability card holders will be able to enjoy the rights and benefits they currently enjoy by showing their disability card, without having to show their disability certification documents every time. The card will also incorporate the features that will allow it to be used as a European disability card. The first cards are expected to be issued by September 2025 and the project is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The completion of the project is expected by the end of September until the end of the year.

Meanwhile, the government is planning further moves to cut red tape and administrative burdens for businesses by 25%. To this end, a comprehensive and coherent mechanism will be created to monitor and simplify procedures that create administrative and adjustment costs for businesses in their dealings with the public administration.

“Green” interventions

The government will also insist on policies under the National Climate Strategy. Starting with the National Water Strategy, it is expected to be developed by the Ministry of Environment and Energy in collaboration with the Ministry of Rural Development within 2025. It is also expected that the resources of the Resilverization Fund will be utilized, starting with the activation of the Fund and the establishment of the necessary governance system and the preparation of investment projects for financing. Within the year, it is expected to prepare and submit a techno-economic analysis for each project and start implementing sub-projects and disbursing funds by September 2025.

Finally, “green” data centers are being launched as part of the national climate plan to optimize energy consumption. The aim of the interventions is to continuously monitor the consumption of the building and the conditions inside it, to optimize them and to save the energy of the facility, which implies the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) and, consequently, the reduction of its energy footprint. Within the framework of this investment project, it is expected that by September 2025 the completion of the process of interconnection of the photovoltaic plant to the DEDDIE network, and the completion of implementation and data analysis is expected.

Projects around Greece

The planning, however, is not only focused on large urban centers and already in recent months local development plans have been presented by governmental echelons. Under the supervision of the Presidency of the government and with the participation of the Deputy Minister of State Thanasis Kontogeorgis – in cooperation with the New Democracy – the new regional planning is being implemented and so far 7 plans have already been presented. As government sources point out, the goal is “proportional and fair distribution of the growth dividend in the region, emphasizing issues of competitiveness and resilience”. In each county visited by a targeted priority-based government team, the local plan is presented while local stakeholders are positioned. Subsequently, the plan is posted on the website erga. gov.gr where citizens can follow its progress.

So far, the government has presented a number of interventions. The start was made in Evros, where a €2.8 billion reconstruction and development plan for the region was presented in Orestiada, and a number of the announced interventions are already underway and being implemented. The next stop was Zante, where a comprehensive plan with €370 million of projects and interventions was presented. The third stop was Argelida, where a €534 million plan for the region was presented in Nafplio in the presence of the Prime Minister. Immediately afterwards, the next in line were Fokida, where interventions of more than 600 million euros are being launched, while the plan presented in Pieria, with emphasis on the protection and development of the National Park of Olympus, is of a similar financial scope. Finally, in Western Macedonia, a fair transition programme was announced in Kastoria for about 592 million euros, where investment projects are also being launched that will create about 300 jobs, while in Grevena 437 million euros will be made available.

The preparation and presentation of local plans will continue in all regional units of the country and in June 2025 or so the Prime Minister will present the overall strategy for the coming years. Next in line will be Rethymno and the regional units of Epirus, Western Greece and the Aegean, for the preparation of which the Presidency of the Government has previously cooperated with regional governors, mayors and local bodies.