Staikouras: Minister, construction businesses discuss sector challenges at panel
The government recognizes the challenges the construction sector faces and is prepared to contribute and cover part of the inflation cost, Infrastructure & Transport Minister Christos Staikouras said on Friday, speaking at a panel at the Economist Conference in Thessaloniki.
The one-day Conference takes place at the Ioannis Velidis Congress Center, and its theme is "Greece's new roadmap after the election - Building dependable partnerships in the region". It is the Third Thessaloniki Metropolitan Summit.
Sector challenges include the large number of non-executed projects, land expropriations, raising capital, and staffing, sector officials said.
Staikouras said the state could definitely not assume the entire cost of inflation because it would affect fiscal rates, and that in turn would affect the private sector adversely. The minister said the government was collaborating with the sector on the non-execution of projects, in order to push ahead ongoing projects and initiate new ones. He also noted the good collaboration between the ministry and the sector, and noted the contributions of sector businesses in recent natural disasters.