862-million-euro PPP projects to be signed in 2026

Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects are evolving into a key pillar of public infrastructure implementation, covering a wide range of sectors, such as education, waste management and others.

The budget of PPPs with the process currently underway stands at 5.070 billion euros, with the prospect of signing contracts worth 862 million euros this year.

The procedures take 2-4 years (in some cases more) to complete, however, in 2024 Greece was ranked second worldwide among 140 countries in the field of “Best Competitive Procedures in PPP projects”, according to the World Bank’s PPP Report.

So far, 28 PPP contracts have been signed worth a total of 3.5 billion euros, not including the four for UFBB (optical fiber to homes and businesses in areas without commercial interest) signed at the end of December 2025.

In the education sector, work has begun on the construction of the student dormitory of the University of Crete, while in the transport sector, projects such as the upgrade of the Inner Peripheral Thessaloniki, the Northern Road Axis of Crete (Heraklion – Agios Nikolaos), the Kalamata – Rizomylos – Pylos – Methoni road axis, as well as the operation and maintenance of the Thessaloniki Metro, stand out.

In 2025, eight PPP contracts were signed with a total budget of 1.4 billion euros (for the student dormitory of Crete, 3 irrigation projects and 4 contracts for the UFBB).

The financial structure of PPPs, as shown by the signed contracts, involves a high leverage of private capital. Of the total investment cost of 3.5 billion euros, approximately 630 million euros – 18% – come from resources of the NSRF and the Recovery Fund, while the remaining 82%, i.e. approximately 2.8 billion, is covered by private financing. The latter is mainly divided into equity and loan capital of Greek banks amounting to 2.6 billion, with additional participation of the European Investment Bank (153 million) and the JESSICA financial instrument (52 million).

This mix reflects the strategic choice of utilizing European and private resources to accelerate large-scale projects, without direct budgetary burden during construction.

In addition to the contracts already signed, the pipeline of projects, under tender or in the process of preparing for signature, remains extensive.