Petros Souretis, Executive Director of GEK TERNA Group, spoke at the Technical Chamber of Greece’s (TEE) Green Deal conference about the future of the construction sector and GEK TERNA’s position in it.

Mr. Souretis noted that, following a prolonged period of crisis, construction groups have now become undisputed key players in investment. In this context, he added that GEK TERNA has evolved into a European infrastructure group with stable and measurable figures, supported by an extensive portfolio of long-term concessions. This portfolio secures recurring revenue streams and operating profitability (EBITDA), which amounted to €631.4 million in 2025.

At the same time, strong liquidity of approximately €2.2 billion enables the Group to implement its strategy without interruption.

Asked whether there is “a degree of tension within the sector”, he noted that there may be “something” in the relationships among construction companies, but GEK TERNA chooses to remain focused on implementing its strategy.

Attica’s Traffic Congestion: Immediate Interventions and Critical Projects

Regarding the traffic congestion problem in Attica, which is causing economic and social chaos, Mr. Souretis commented that “time has run out”, making the implementation of immediate interventions imperative.
Specifically, these interventions include:

• The extension of Kymi Avenue (3.8 km): It will substantially ease traffic congestion during peak hours and enable a direct connection between Attiki Odos and the National Road, bypassing Metamorfosi. The project is now awaiting resolution of the funding issue, as the tender process selected a preferred bidder several years ago.

• The Ilioupoli Urban Tunnel: An unsolicited proposal has already been submitted for this project. It is critically important for improving access to Ellinikon and the southern areas of the capital, given the additional pressure expected from the Ellinikon development. Annual visitor numbers to the project are estimated at 1 million, while the annual growth rate in car traffic towards the Southern Suburbs ranges between 5% and 7%.

• The intervention at the Metamorfosi Interchange: The intervention being implemented by GEK TERNA will substantially reduce delays, as queues at this location currently reach up to 6 kilometres.

The Future: Climate Resilience and Digital Modernisation

At the same time, as Mr. Souretis emphasised, the future of the construction sector requires rapid adaptation to climate change and to the demands of the digital transition.

Accordingly, infrastructure maintenance must become a top priority in order to prevent situations such as that of Egnatia Odos, where the lack of maintenance caused deterioration to escalate exponentially, bringing the road axis to the brink of disrepair.

“Today, the concessionaire is called upon to remedy the accumulated, long-standing deterioration and damage along the road axis,” Mr. Souretis said.

To this end, the construction sector must undergo digital modernisation through the full adoption of state-of-the-art technologies, such as:

• BIM (Building Information Modelling): It delivers cost savings of 10–20% over a project’s entire life cycle.

• Digital Twin: It is a live digital replica of the infrastructure, enabling inspection and monitoring in real time.

“The processing of information about the built environment determines how smart, cost-effective, safe and resilient our infrastructure will be,” Mr. Souretis concluded.