Greece is moving ahead with the long-awaited development of a giant €200 million warehouse, transport and freight processing center west of Athens, a project that will cement the country’s role as the leading logistics hub in Southeast Europe.

Overcoming a complex of legal and other challenges, the Greek parliament this month ratified a revised concession agreement for the Thriassio freight village, allowing construction to begin on the landmark project.

The project foresees a freight center of 240,000 square meters, on a total land area of 20 hectares, with both cold and dry storage facilities, office space, customs controls, parking areas for 4,000 cars and 120 trucks, as well as specialty-built rail facilities. Construction on the project is expected to begin next year and, when fully operational, the center is expected to create between 3,000 and 5,000 jobs.

The most important feature of the Thriasio Freight Center will be its interconnection with all of Greece’s transport networks and hubs: the port of Piraeus, the port of Elefsina, the Athens International Airport, as well as the nearby national road and rail networks.

Under the revised concession agreement, the Greek government will receive a €20 million lump sum payment, a 5% share of turnover with a minimum annual payment of €700,000, as well as a 50% share of after tax profits above a stipulated threshold.