Infrastructure investments showing huge shortfall
The drop in investment in new infrastructure projects is expected to translate into an annual 0.8 percent decline in gross domestic product in the coming years, according to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The PwC survey showed that the value of works due for completion in the years up until 2024 lags the average in previous years by 4.1 billion euros, which illustrates the significant investment gap seen following the trend of previous years.
As PwC expert Costas Mitropoulos explained at the presentation of the report yesterday, “from 2009 to 2018 the total value of investments was reduced by 13 billion euros, creating a huge investment shortfall of 1.4 billion euros per year.” Given that investment in infrastructure projects bears an economic multiplier of 1.8 – meaning that each euro invested benefits the economy by 1.8 euros – the sector is particularly important for the Greek economy.
Today the outstanding balance of infrastructure works in Greece amounts to 25 billion euros, of which 10.6 billion euros concerns energy projects, 7.4 billion railway works, and 4.3 billion euros highways.
