PM Mitsotakis and Hellenic Bank Association expand ‘Marietta Giannakou’ school renovation programme

Athens, Greece.- Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced an increase in the budget for the “ Marietta Giannakou” programme for the renovation of public schools during a meeting on Monday at the Maximos Mansion with the chairman of the Hellenic Bank Association Gikas Hardouvelis, and the CEOs of Alpha Bank Vassilis Psaltis, Eurobank Fokion Karavias, National Bank of Greece Pavlos Mylonas; and Piraeus Bank Christos Megalou.

The programme’s expansion will be funded by an additional 300 million euros over three years from the four systemic banks, on top of the 100 million euros they have already contributed, bringing their total support to 400 million euros.

This programme, together with the 250 million euros in funds available from the Public Investment Programme, increases the total budget for school interventions to 650 million euros, with the aim of implementing projects in more than 2,500 schools.

The first phase of renovation and upgrading projects, involving 431 schools, will be completed before the start of the school year. “The Marietta Giannakou programme is an extremely successful example of public-private partnership for a good cause. When we started planning it, we warmly thanked you for the initial generous donation of 100 million euros, which was implemented exactly as planned. New toilets, painting, accessibility for children, but also for teachers with disabilities, and of course the reconstruction of the schoolyards. The basketball, volleyball, and football courts located in schoolyards are being rebuilt,” said Mitsotakis.

Hardouvelis said that the “ Marietta Giannakou” programme “ is the largest corporate social responsibility initiative ever implemented in our country. Education is the cornerstone of national progress; investing in it benefits every citizen. Greek banks are guided by social responsibility. These initiatives are developed in parallel with our consistent support for the Greek economy,” adding that, according to the latest European Central Bank data for June, the annual rate of credit expansion in Greece was the second highest in the Eurozone, reaching 18%.

He also stressed that the Greek banking system is strong and resilient, as shown by the results of the recent EBA stress tests, supports the economy, and has achieved first place in corporate social contribution.

cource: amna.gr