The Public Power Company (PPC) management is in discussions with multinationals from the IT sector for participation in the large data centre that it is planning in Western Macedonia and the first signals are encouraging, due to the significant advantages of the region for this specific investment. The alliance with one or more investors for the implementation of the investment is expected to be finalised in 1-2 years, while all the projects planned by PPC in the former lignite mines are expected to be completed in 2030-2031.

PPC's investment plan in Western Macedonia, amounting to 5.8 billion euros, with a possible expansion to 12 billion euros, under certain conditions, was presented at a special event, in the presence of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the site of the Kardia Steam Power Plant in Ptolemaida on Thursday.

The advantages of the area for the installation of a data centre were described during the event by the president and CEO of PPC, George Stassis, saying: "We have land, energy, a natural gas network, electricity transmission networks, a fibre optic network with connections to international telecommunications hubs, water, district heating needs in the area, and a workforce. Our subsidiary PPC Fibergrid will create new ultra-high-speed connections of the data centre with Thessaloniki and Igoumenitsa, and through the East Med Corridor cable - in which we participate - with telecommunications hubs abroad, as far as India and Singapore.

"The investment concerns the development of a data centre with a capacity of 300 megawatts in the first phase, reaching 2.3 billion euros. If the right conditions are met, it will be expanded to 1 gigawatt, which will require additional investments of 5.4 billion euros and another 1.2 billion in energy units that will cover the additional demand. An additional advantage for consumers is the data centre, which will not absorb cheap energy from the market, thus raising prices for other consumers, but will be supplied with an energy purchase agreement from the PPC units in the area."