Greece has secured funding of 24 million euros ($26 million) to upgrade the port of ALEXANDROUPOLIS in the Northern Aegean Sea. The Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF) has announced that the funds will enhance the port’s facilities and transform it into a regional energy hub.
Situated close to Bulgaria and Turkey, the port of ALEXANDROUPOLIS has previously been utilized by the US military for unloading munitions and transferring them to the western flank of NATO’s Western alliance.
The port is poised to become a significant entry point for European energy imports. Gastrade, an energy company, is constructing a floating gas and regasification unit near the city, which will serve as a storage and transportation facility for liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe. This development is expected to benefit Greece and Bulgaria as they seek to revive a pipeline for transporting crude oil from the port to Bulgaria’s Black Sea port of Burgas. The EU funds will be allocated towards dredging works and the construction of supporting road infrastructure, as stated by HRADF.
In November of the previous year, the New Democracy Government in Athens decided to cancel the sale of a 67% stake in ALEXANDROUPOLIS, citing the port’s strategic, geopolitical, and energy significance to the country, emphasizing that it should remain under the Greek government control. HRADF had commented at the time that, given the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the port had gained greater value as a facilitator of weapons
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