New digital infrastructure for the Municipality of Chania

In 14 months from now the Municipality of Chania will have an up-to-date digital Control Centre, having just signed an agreement with OTE for them to construct a modern installation and upgrade already existing ones. The agreement was signed on Monday 22nd December between the Municipality and OTE officials and the project will be incorporated into the government’s “Antonis Tritsis” programme for funding local government development., with a budget of €1,450,614.

Giving further details of what exactly the Control Centre is, the head of the Municipality’s Directorate for Planning, Organisation and Information Technology, Sevasti Polychronaki, told those present at the signing that it has three basic principles:
— To facilitate the operation of all the smart systems in the Municipality, such as smart traffic lights, retractable bollards, sensors for disabled parking spaces, etc, the right infrastructure is needed and the data for all these must be held on a secure basis. For this purpose, two data centres will be created (one main one and one standby) which will have up-to-the-minute equipment so that they can operate in all circumstances, including emergencies.
— A civil protection information system is being created which will be activated in cases of emergency. The system will have equipment such as drones, laptops, tablets and software.
— All the data collected in real time will go to the Control Centre so as to provide an immediate picture of the situation within the city. For this there will be cameras (which, as she said, will not record faces or number plates), which will give give a picture of traffic movements, etc.

A retractable bollard and traffic light at the entrance to Halidon Street in Chania.
Part of the Municipality’s digital network, retractable bollards sunk into the road which can rise up to block access have been installed at 11 strategic points around the periphery of the Old City. This one is at the entrance to Halidon Street, near the Municipal Picture Gallery. Photo: Municipal press release.

Speaking in turn, the Mayor of Chania Panagiotis Simandirakis expressed his satisfaction at the signing of the agreement:
“With the implementation of this project, the Municipality of Chania will be the first one in Greece to succeed in interconnecting all its digital data, all the digital information which exists across the length and breadth of the Municipality. The aim is to facilitate better and more immediate decision-making in the field of civil protection, which is the primary one, but to provide a series of data to do with traffic circulation, with critical environmental factors and associated data. To ensure the security of the Municipality’s digital data, two new control/data centres will be constructed which will guarantee the uninterrupted operation of all the digital media which have been built up over the past few years,” Mr Simandirakis said.

Next, the deputy mayor for Finance and Digital Transformation Tasos Aloglou spoke of “an effort which started in 2019 cataloguing the needs and the way in which we will proceed with implementing those needs”.

“I can tell you with certainty that the specific task which we will be implementing within the next 14 months, is one of the most important projects which we will have created, which will extend beyond the frontiers of Greece with its innovation and technology,” OTE group sales director Stathis Keriotis said.

Maria Paschalidou, OTE’s Senior Account Manager for the Municipality of Chania added: “Chania is a pioneer in the field of technological and informational solutions as well as smart city solutions. We have implemented many solutions which have gained nationwide awards.”

The data centres will operate in the Municipality’s central building, and in another which for security reasons will not be revealed.
(Haniotika Nea, 23/12/25)