Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis attended and addressed a speech at the inauguration of the first phase of the largest data center in terms of capacity that has been built in Greece, Athens-3, which was developed at the Athens Data Center Campus in Koropi.
“What is taking place today, started with Lamda Hellix, continues as Digital Realty. It is just one tile, from a very beautiful and colorful mosaic that concerns the map of innovation in our country, where a small revolution is really taking place.
I have not hidden my ambition: In five years the technology sector will contribute 10% to the GDP of our country. And indeed, Lamda Hellix may have started before other companies, but many other companies in the innovation ecosystem are moving at high speed, growing, becoming unicorns, i.e. companies with a private valuation that is already over $1 billion and I’m sure many others will follow.
Keep in mind that this year Greece set a record in filing and granting approvals for new patents. This tells us something about the way in which the technological community itself moves to secure the intellectual property of new innovations that are developed here in Greece.
Therefore, something important is happening which justifies our strategy for the digital transition of our country to a more digital future. And I am really glad that this image from the future, which we did not easily imagine when we saw it in our country at least in such frequency, is part of the present of our country.
Greece is a country that is changing very quickly, “embraces” the challenges of the future and is not afraid of them. And knows how it wants to place itself on the future map of the development dynamics of our country”, stressed the Prime Minister.
Athens-3 has a 6.8 megawatts (MW) of IT capacity and occupies a facility of 8,600 square meters. The standards based on which it was designed and built rank it among the most efficient data centers worldwide in terms of energy consumption, while it will be powered exclusively by “green” sources.
At the inauguration, which took place approximately one year after the foundation of the project, was also announced the issuance of a permit for the construction of another data center, Athens-4, which will have the same capacity as Athens-3. The construction of Athens-4 is expected to be completed at the end of 2024.
In addition to the services they offer, data centers are infrastructures that attract investment and boost productivity in other fields of the economy, broadly upgrading the attractiveness of Greece as an investment destination.
It is estimated that every 1 euro of investments in data centers brings a total of 8.23 euros to the economy over a decade, while the added value of Digital Realty’s investments is estimated to bring more than 4 billion euros to the economy.
The continued expansion of the Campus in Koropi, combined with the development of the Heraklion-1 data center in Crete and the investments of technological giants in this sector, showcase Greece as a hub in an extremely important market, at a time when data storage and service availability are an important part of the fourth industrial revolution and the business activities of the 21st century.
The event was attended by the Minister of Development and Investments Adonis Georgiadis, the Minister of State and Digital Governance Kyriakos Pierrakakis, the Alternative Minister of Interior Stelios Petsas, the US Ambassador to Greece George Tsunis, the President and CEO of Lamda Hellix, A Digital Realty Company, Apostolos Kakkos and the CEO of Digital Realty A. William Stein.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ full speech follows:
Dear Ministers, Mr Mayor, Ambassador, dear Bill, dear Apostolis, dear Alexandros, executives of Digital Realty.
Allow me to begin by personally congratulating Apostolos (Kakkos) on the great course that he has covered over the last two decades, when he back then started with a pioneering idea, a very innovative one for Greece, i.e. his first start-up. Today a very important cycle is being completed for the company, and another promising one is opening.
You said that you have been the CEO of Lamda Helix for 19 years and I was thinking that I have been in the Hellenic Parliament for 19 years, but I am not planning to leave yet.
We were in this same place 14 months ago. Back then we were “welcomed” by five shovels and a large hole. And there was a commitment by the company that by the end of the next year – December 2022 that is – your third major data center, Athens-3, would be ready and operational. This is where we are today and we have the pleasure to officially inaugurate it.
I won’t hide that I had some doubts whether it would be possible to meet the deadline. So congratulations to every one who has worked so that we can be here today, so that the company can be ready to welcome very soon, within the first quarter of the next year, its first customers.
And of course this is not where the company’s plans end. I am particularly satisfied to be informed that your investment plan includes not only one data center, right next to Athens-3, there will be Athens-4.
Let me also commend our Archaeological Services for the way they handled the important findings. I think that this will be the first data center – at a global level I imagine – which will be placed upon an old telecommunications tower of another era and I imagine that you will showcase it in an interesting and innovative way.
I am very pleased with the fact that your investments will be extended in Heraklion. Within 2025, the data center of Heraklion will be ready and it is already under way.
In this way, Lamda Helix which is now renamed to Digital Realty, with its new corporate identity will play a leading role, supporting our own vision, which is none other than to bring Greece at the front line of the digital revolution, creating a series of very important infrastructures in data centers.
And of course, Digital Realty is not the only company that is active in Greece to this end. There are many more technological companies that have expressed their wish and initiated large scale investments like this one.
As you said, this allows us to effectively take a great leap. To overcome years of delay, and while we were laggards we become the leading actors in this major digital transition, which our government has supported from the first moment and has done so in a tangible way.
I want to seize this opportunity and congratulate the two competent Ministers: the Minister of Digital Governance, who has designed an overall strategy that is transferring data, the data of the state itself to the cloud. So we actually become customers to these infrastructure. But also the Minister of Development and Investment. How did they call you “The doctor of investments”. Well, I hadn’t heard this one before.
But indeed, I think that the Ministry of Development has proven that it can really help every big investment and overcome small and big bureaucratic obstacles, which of course always arise when such important projects are implemented.
I will not be speaking with facts. Besides, facts have already been cited. Apostolos has also referred to facts. And I imagine that the next speakers will also refer to facts. I keep what has been said: that every euro invested in a data center essentially creates an economic surplus of more than 8 euros over time.
Here, we are talking about investments that will far exceed 200 million, so you can do the math and figure out why these investments are so important for the future economic development of our country.
Because if highways – and we are inaugurating many of them these days – are the avenues of the present, data centers are the avenues of the future. Look at the map and you will figure out the reason why Greece’s position in this global data transfer network is so important.
I have said many times that back at the end of 2019, when we were discussing with the Minister our digital strategy on infrastructure, I was impressed when I saw that all data cables would end up in Marseille. And I was saying “Why cannot many others of these cables end up in Greece or Crete?” And this is what is well underway now. And infrastructure – like the one inaugurated today – is absolutely essential so that we can serve this strategy.
It was rightly said that just as important as Alexandroupolis can be as a transit center for the import of natural gas energy sources for Europe, Athens, Crete can be just as important in the global map of transfer of data. I am really happy that you are helping us with your investments to materialize this grandiose, ambitious vision that we have for our country overall.
Finally, I would like to say that, what is taking place today, started with Lamda Hellix, continues as Digital Realty. It is just one tile, from a very beautiful and colorful mosaic that concerns the map of innovation in our country, where a small revolution is really taking place.
I have not hidden my ambition: In five years the technology sector will contribute 10% to the GDP of our country. And indeed, Lamda Hellix may have started before other companies, but many other companies in the innovation ecosystem are moving at high speed, growing, becoming unicorns, i.e. companies with a private valuation that is already over $1 billion and I’m sure many others will follow.
Keep in mind that this year Greece set a record in filing and granting approvals for new patents. This tells us something about the way in which the technological community itself moves to secure the intellectual property of new innovations that are developed here in Greece.
Therefore, something important is happening which justifies our strategy for the digital transition of our country to a more digital future. And I am really glad/happy that this image from the future, which we did not easily imagine when we saw it in our country at least in such frequency, is part of the present of our country.
Greece is a country that is changing very quickly, “embraces” the challenges of the future and is not afraid of them. And knows how it wants to place itself on the future map of the development dynamics of our country. And I will be glad if it will be put into operation soon – this I take for granted. I understand that this space will be filled with racks, servers that your customers will bring. I hope we will be able to attend many more new openings of corresponding businesses, which trust Greece.
Thank you for trusting Greece for your investments and together, we will create wealth and prosperity for all Greek citizens. Thank you very much.
