Investment plans of 3.93 billion euros in the loan part of ‘Greece 2.0’

The total budget of the investment projects that have been submitted, so far, to the loan part of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan amounts to 3.93 billion euros, as stated by the Deputy Minister of Finance, Mr. Thodoros Skylakakis, responsible for the implementation of the Program. in a special event, entitled: “Opportunities and Prospects of Greece 2.0”.

The event took place on the afternoon of Thursday, September 1, in a central hotel in Patras. It was organized by the Economic Chamber of Greece (OEE), in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and the Special Coordination Service of the Recovery Fund, as part of the information campaign of OEE members, accountants – tax professionals and businesses, on the benefits of “Greece 2.0” .

In particular, with regard to the loan part of the National Plan, 107 investment plans have been submitted, for now, by interested investors. The total budget of these proposals amounts to 3.93 billion euros, of which 1.68 billion euros are loans from the Recovery and Resilience Fund, 933 million euros are investors’ equity and 1.32 billion euros are funds of the banks.

The above investments fall into different sectors of the economy, such as services, transport, tourism, manufacturing, energy, trade and construction.

Already, 13 investment projects have been contracted, with the total investment amounting to 1.02 billion euros (455.34 million euros are resources-loans of the Recovery Fund).

It is noteworthy that the average interest rate of these loan contracts amounts to 0.77%, with their average repayment period reaching approximately 11 years.

“Most loans are with a reference interest rate,” commented the Deputy Minister of Finance, explaining that in practice this means that many investors do not apply for state aid.

He underlined, in fact, that it is crucial for small and medium-sized enterprises, which have or can acquire a banking profile, to take advantage of “Greece 2.0”, which provides for the possibility of lending at a favorable interest rate, as “we are entering a period of rapid interest rate increases, which will last at least 1.5-2 years until inflation in Europe and America is tamed,” he said.

In addition, eight investment projects, with a total budget of 74.39 million euros, of which 34.94 million euros are resources-loans of the Recovery Fund, are contracted immediately. Regarding the subsidies, where the budget of the projects that have been included in “Greece 2.0” exceeds 11 billion euros, with the number of projects increasing rapidly, Mr. Skylakakis noted that a series of actions will be activated soon , such as “Save for business”, “Smart manufacturing”, “Industrial parks” etc.

He also emphasized that in September, the Greek government will submit to the European Commission the second request for payment from the Recovery and Resilience Fund, as our country is moving towards the successful completion of the required milestones (25 for the part of the subsidies).

It is recalled that Greece was the third country (after Spain and France) to submit (29.12.2021) to the Commission the first request for payment, following the schedule provided in the Operational Regulations. The disbursement of the first payment, amounting to 3.6 billion euros, in the context of “Greece 2.0”, took place on 08.04.2022, after the fulfillment of the 15 required milestones.

Finally, referring to the value of the Recovery and Resilience Fund, Mr. Skylakakis pointed out: “We must use it with maximum efficiency and seriousness, as it can keep us on a positive course throughout the possible recession that Europe will have due to gas prices – and possibly the entire West. We must preserve it, as the apple of our eye, outside of partisan rivalries and political influence. It is precious!”.

Today, Friday, September 2 at 11 am, at the Xistris Theme Park in Pyrgos, there will be another event as part of the information campaign being carried out for “Greece 2.0”, in which the keynote speakers will be Mr. Skylakakis and the President of OEE, Mr. Konstantinos Kollias.