The Ministry of Environment and Energy has approved the Technical Environmental Study (TE.PE.M) for the temporary disposal of excavated materials that will be produced during the construction phase of the Microsoft Data Center in Spata.

The decision provides for the operation of a temporary disposal site for the construction needs of the Data Center on land adjacent to the development sites. According to TEPEM, these materials will have to be appropriately managed, i.e., suitability testing/sorting and crushing as appropriate, in order to be reused on site at the project, while the remaining material will be removed as excavation waste to a final approved MSW recipient.

Last September, the green light was given for the investment in Spata, with the approval of the zoning and environmental conditions for the creation of the first of three new data centers that Microsoft is promoting in the area of the Petra Gialos-Voulia - Prokalisi Business Park of the Municipality of Spata-Artemis. In mid-January last year, the Presidential Decree was signed and published in the Official Gazette, approving the Special Spatial Development Plan for Strategic Investment (ESXASE) and the Strategic Environmental Impact Study (SEIS).

THE PROJECT

The construction of the project was awarded to Renco in cooperation with Terna following a tender procedure. It is an industrial-style facility with a main equipment building (ATH04 building) and an administration building (Admin block), along with a number of supporting facilities and infrastructure in the surrounding area, and the design complies with LEED (Gold Grade) certification requirements. It primarily consists of mechanical and electrical equipment for data storage and processing in the cloud.

The construction scope corresponding to the contract amounts to €100 million (including VAT) and provides for the completion of the design, construction and commissioning of the first data center, with a total installed capacity of 19.2 MW.

INVESTMENT OF €1 BILLION.

Microsoft aims to create a complex of 3 data centers in the prefecture of Attica in order to develop and provide cloud services (Microsoft Cloud) in Greece (Microsoft 365, Microsoft Azure, Dynamics 365 and Power Platform). It is the largest investment that has been included in the Strategic Investment Law.

The total cost of the investment project amounts to €976.168 million excluding VAT. The budget includes capital expenditure of €746.549 million for the purchase of the land, the construction of the buildings and the purchase of the necessary equipment, as well as operating expenditure of €229.62 million over an eight-year horizon (payroll costs, facility management costs, and maintenance costs). The investment is expected to create 300 new jobs over a 10-year period.