Approval of financing of 682 investment projects in the areas of Fair Development Transition

The approval for funding from the Fair Development Transition Program 2021 – 2027, took six investment projects from large and 676 investment projects of the de minimis regime, from new very small and small businesses, as announced today (21.11.2024) by the Deputy Minister of Finance, Nikos Papathanasis at a press conference along with the Governor of the Special Fair Development Transition Service, Pelopida Kalliris. In particular, the six investment projects by large companies already approved have a total eligible budget of EUR 136.2 million, of which EUR 67.9 million will be the grant to be granted by the IMI Programme. Accordingly, the 676 investment projects, also approved and subject to the de minimis scheme, have a total eligible budget of around EUR 57,7 million of which around EUR 40,2 million will be the grant to be granted by the ICM Programme. The total number of jobs planned to be created by these investment projects is 1,685. While, in the next few years, an additional 2,300 new jobs are expected to be created. The implementation of the investments announced today and will start from the beginning of the new year, thanks to the rapid completion of the evaluation process, is crucial for the developmental transformation of the local economy and society throughout the Region of Western Macedonia and in the wider area of Megalopolis, which for decades were almost exclusively linked to the activity of lignite mining. During the interview, new projects were also announced to support investment projects of existing and new ones under the establishment of large, small, micro and small enterprises, both in the specific regions and in the islands of the country. Deputy Minister of Finance Nikos Papathanasis stressed: “The Government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis, having secured the first among the 27, a programme of 1.6 billion euros for the areas of Fair Development Transition, continues to implement its commitments and reform work in full, actively strengthening the entrepreneurship of each size, with an emphasis on SMEs. The aim remains to create even more and better paid jobs and to increase incomes for all our fellow citizens, especially for young people and young people who want to stay at home and contribute to its development.” The Commander of the Special Fair Development Transition Service, Pelopidas Kalliris, stressed: “Today’s announcement of the 6 investment projects by large companies and 676 investment projects by very small and small enterprises approved to receive funding from the DAM 2021-2027 Programme, best confirms the systematic work done by the state in recent years so that the regions affected by the energy transition can regain their growth orientation in areas of modern economy. We continue constantly to try to ensure that these regions receive in time any euro available for the benefit of the local economy and their inhabitants.”