Among the speakers at the “Kriti 2030” forum organised by the national newspaper Eleftheros Typos in Heraklion on 13th May was the Minister for Infrastructure Christos Dimas, who presented an overview of the current state of infrastructure works in Crete, focusing mainly on the VOAK. His talk was illustrated with videos taken in April showing work in progress on the different sections of the project. The following is a translated transcript of his comments, the full video of which can be seen on the Minister’s YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fX_avdqXAQ#
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Special provisions for Crete in new tourist plan
A Special Planning Framework for Tourism, with a clear emphasis on sustainable development, resilience of destinations and the safeguarding of the country’s natural and cultural resources, was presented at a press conference on 11th May by the Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni and the Minister of the Environment and Energy Stavros Papastavrou.
Continue readingCrete unemployment below the national average
Unemployment in Crete remains below the national average according to official figures from the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) published on Friday 6th March. The unemployment rate for the Region of Crete for the fourth quarter of 2025 was 6.9% as against the national average of 8.3%.
Continue readingGreece signs with Chevron for gas exploration off Crete
At the Prime Ministerial Mansion (Megaro Maximou) on 16th February, agreements were signed between the Greek State and a consortium of the US oil company Chevron and the HELLENiQ ENERGY group, granting it exclusive rights to hydrocarbon exploitation in four sea areas south of the Peloponnese and Crete. The agreements were signed by the Minister of the Environment and Energy Stavros Papastavrou, Chevron’s Vice-President for Global New Ventures Gavin Lewis, the CEO of HELLENiQ ENERGY Andreas Shiamishis, and the CEO of HEREMA* (Hellenic Hydrocarbons and Energy Resources Management Company) Aristofanis Stefatos. The signing took place in the presence of the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and also present was the US Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle.
Continue readingA new fire chief for Crete
The year 2025 was a difficult one for the Fire Service in Crete, with outbreaks of fire exacerbated by high summer temperatures and gale force winds in many places. The worst outbreak was near Ierapetra in July, when a major conflagration was fought by more than 230 firefighters along with 46 vehicles and 10 helicopters, and 1,500 residents and visitors had to be evacuated from four villages.
Continue readingNew database maps seismic faults in Crete and Greece
New mapping of seismic faults
Scientists from the National Observatory of Athens (ΕΑΑ) and from New Zealand, using Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) from the Hellenic Land Registry, have systematically mapped the whole country with the aim of recording the active seismic faults in terrestrial Greece. The scientists discovered hundreds of new seismic faults, while obtaining fuller details of already known ones, creating Active Faults Greece (AFG), the first such database in Greece, which was compiled on the basis of the seismic imprint of faults on the landscape and was published in the authoritative journal Scientific Data.
Crete the leader in short-term rentals
This year Crete has once again confirmed its position as one of the strongest and most resilient markets for short-term rentals in the Mediterranean, according to information presented at the Short Stay Conference Crete 2025, which was held in Heraklion on 23rd of October. According to data from the platforms Lighthouse, Booking.com, Vrbo, Beyond and Hosthub, the island is showing strong development in the number of accommodation units, occupancy and prices, confirming that the market is maturing and becoming differentiated.
Continue readingAmbassador visits Crete to further Azeri-Greek relations
Greece as an energy hub
Situated in a strategic position in the Eastern Mediterranean, Greece can fulfil many roles as a link between East and West – both geopolitically and in terms of communications and commerce. The US now regards Greece as its reliable partner for projecting American power in the Middle East, with an important base at Souda, and plans to increase its presence at Alexandroupolis in the northern Aegean. As we reported in a recent post, Greece will play a central role in the proposed new Indian Silk Route which aims to bypass the Suez Canal in transporting goods from India to Europe. With the two undersea electrical connections between Crete and the Greek mainland now in operation and plans for further undersea links with Cyprus and Israel via the Great Sea Interconnector, and with Egypt via the GREGY (Greece-Egypt-Europe) Interconnector, there is the prospect of Greece becoming a critical link in the supply of green energy to Europe. The country became an net exporter of electricity in 2024.
Fatal road accidents reduced in Crete
Current data for the year 2025 show an encouraging decrease in fatal road accidents in Crete, it was stated at a road safety event held on Tuesday 14th October at the Mikis Theodorakis Theatre in Chania, as part of a series organised by the EKO group of petrol stations.
Continue readingEarthquake exercise in Crete
The Army, Fire Service, Police and school groups as well as teams of volunteers will be participating in the Minoas 2024 earthquake exercise, covering the whole of Crete, which will be centred on Chania and Rethymnon on 22nd April, and on Heraklion and Lasithi on 23rd April. All those on the island will receive an earthquake warning via text message from the 112 emergency line. More extensive information will be published in the days before the exercise.
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