"If natural gas doesn't come, we'll have a serious problem with electricity supply in 2030," said the Minister of Energy, Trade and Industry, Michalis Damianos, adding that completing the project in Vasiliko is the only way forward.

“The project in Vasiliko must definitely be completed before 2030—and it will certainly be completed before 2030,” Mr. Damianos emphasized, speaking before the members of the Parliamentary Committee on Energy, which was briefed by the Minister of Energy on matters within the Committee’s purview.

He also said that “any other interim solutions would likely take the same amount of time or even longer, because, based on the laws governing public tenders, you need bidding terms, you need bids, possibly legal proceedings during appeals, project award, and then the project must be built.”

Furthermore, the Minister of Energy said that “our decision is to proceed” with the project in Vasilikos and added that “because the project is needed, we need natural gas.”

He noted that the project in Vasilikos, based on the study by Technip, “which we received at the end of 2025, is half-finished.”

“Whether it’s 40% or 60% complete is too technical for me to answer, but the only real solution is to finish this project,” he added.

He also noted that the bidding terms will expire in July, while the new Board of Directors of DEFA has recently been appointed, so that ETYFA—which consists of six members from DEFA’s Board of Directors and three from the AHK—can move forward to finalize these terms. He added that “by the end of 2026 or the first quarter of 2027, we want to have completed the bidding process and awarded the contract.”

Mr. Damianos expressed the hope that there would be no subsequent legal proceedings, so that the project could begin.