The Minister of National Defence Nikos Dendias, yesterday, Good Wednesday 8 April 2026, signed a programme agreement with the Vice President of the European Investment Bank, Ioannis Tsakiris, between the Ministry of National Defence and the European Investment Bank, concerning the provision of technical support, and launching energy efficiency upgrade works on 40 of the most energy consuming army camps in the country.

The signing ceremony was attended by the Chief HNDGS, General Dimitrios Choupis, the Deputy Chief HAGS, Lieutenant General Andreas Koronakis, the Director HAGS/C Branch, Major General Dimitrios Kourkoulakos, and the Senior Loan Officer, Public Sector Financing, at the European Investment Bank for Greece and Cyprus, Konstantinos Kargakos.

This initiative is incorporated in the broader programme of modernisation and restructuring of military infrastructure. The programme aims at forming a coherent investment framework, which will guarantee reliable and continuous energy provision, lower operating costs, and limit dependency on external energy sources, while reinforcing the total infrastructure resilience.

The programme agreement is also an important step towards improving energy efficiency and lowering the energy footprint of the Armed Forces’ infrastructure. In this framework, provision has been made for the preparation of a study, project developments, and the implementation of interventions which, among others, include the upgrade of building facilities, the modernisation of energy systems, and the utilisation of renewable sources of energy.

The Minister of National Defence stated:

“It is our pleasure to welcome you and your partners at the Ministry of National Defence, to sign, as we did a few minutes ago, an agreement offering the Hellenic Armed Forces the opportunity to upgrade their facilities.

This contract concerns the 40 most energy consuming army camps of our Country, yet whose consumption represents 62% of the total energy consumption of the Armed Forces. That is to say, a task with a huge environmental footprint, which will limit the consumption of these facilities, and lower the energy costs of the Ministry by 17.2 million euros annually.

All of which comes at a near zero burden to our budget, the budget of the Ministry of National Defence.

The signing of this programme agreement with the European Investment Bank is part of a series of programmed actions, which concern the transition to ecological structures, friendly to the environment; they also concern saving resources, which can be allocated to much more beneficial – if I may – purposes, such as salaries and other provisions for our personnel.

The Ministry, in cooperation with the European Investment Bank, is utilising all available financial instruments. We have already planned – the Vice President already knows – to sign a contract with the Modernisation Fund, which will allow us to modernise the mechanical equipment of our five Military Plants in the near future.

This morning I visited 306 Telecommunications Base Plant, which is one of our two drone producing plants. Thus, we will save on energy there as well, and we are estimating on saving more than 10 million, and of course raising our productive capabilities.

I would like to state that these are not the only projects we are planning. The procurement of a medical gases production unit has been set in motion, for the benefit of our Military Hospitals, and the structures of our National Health System.

This will save us another 2 million euros annually out of the budget of our Ministry, and another 2 million out of the budget of the Ministry of Health. I think this demonstrates that there are solutions for saving, so long as we are serious, and cooperate with entities such as the European Investment Bank, who are experienced in this field.

It is also known that the Ministry’s building, this huge building, is being modernised in an environmentally friendly way, a way which allows us to save energy. We have completed the façade. Works have begun on the other sides of the building. According to planning, they will be completed by 28 October.

Works have already begun for the modernisation of the building’s interior, which, alongside the completion of the Electronic Warfare building, the tree planting (more than 500 trees have been planted at Army Camp “PAPAGOU”) and the total restructuring of the facilities, will give us a novel result. Not only an aesthetic result, but a result which uses much less energy, and a result which will allow the building to be aesthetically flawless but also integrate in the environment, having a green footprint.

Vice President, I would like to warmly thank you for your attendance here today, for the effort we have jointly made. I would like to state how fortunate I am to have signed this contract, which bears your signature.

I warmly thank you for your cooperation”.

On behalf of the European Investment Bank, Vice President Ioannis Tsakiris stated, among others:

“The needs for reliable energy in critical infrastructure are constantly increasing, creating the need for more modern and flexible approaches. Through this partnership, the European Investment Bank is supporting Greece in developing solutions which reinforce the autonomy and resilience of military installations in a practical and viable way. It is a future investment, which safeguards infrastructure, and renders it more capable of responding to every challenge”.