At the Economist conference “Investing in Change: Crete in Transition” held in Chania’s historic Grand Arsenal, Heraklion Mayor Alexis Kalokairinos delivered a message that sounded refreshingly different from the usual political celebration of ribbon-cuttings and PowerPoint optimism.
His central point was simple: yes, major projects are finally happening across Crete, but many of them are not new victories. They are overdue obligations.
For residents who have spent decades hearing promises about roads, planning reforms, infrastructure upgrades, and public investments, the observation may feel less like a revelation and more like a confirmation of lived experience.
According to the mayor, Greece often suffers from delayed decision-making, fragmented planning, and slow implementation. By the time projects move from announcement to execution, reality has already changed around them.
That observation may be one of the least controversial statements made at any conference this year.
The Problems Are Not Exactly a Secret
Kalokairinos identified several areas where Heraklion continues to face significant challenges:
- Urban planning
- Land-use management
- Civil protection
- City development
- Energy infrastructure
- Waste management
- Water resource management
None of these issues appeared suddenly. Most have accumulated over decades of rapid growth, expanding tourism, changing climate conditions, and administrative complexity.
The mayor noted that the investments required to fully address these problems are far greater than the resources currently available.
Again, few residents are likely to argue.
Anyone navigating traffic bottlenecks, aging infrastructure, seasonal water concerns, or planning disputes can see that the gap between needs and funding remains substantial.
The Missing Piece: Coordination
Perhaps the most noteworthy part of Kalokairinos’s remarks concerned local government itself.
He argued that municipalities remain largely absent from regional planning structures. While mayors may cooperate and exchange ideas, there is no systematic mechanism ensuring that local governments participate directly in shaping regional priorities.
In practical terms, municipalities are often expected to solve local problems without having equivalent influence over broader strategic decisions.
That disconnect is hardly unique to Crete, but it continues to complicate efforts to create coherent long-term development policies.
Crete’s Exception to the Rule
The mayor did, however, offer praise for the relationship between municipalities and the regional government.
He described Crete as fortunate to have a regional administration willing to listen and act with a sense of fairness toward local concerns.
Whether citizens agree with that assessment may depend on which municipality they call home, but the comment highlighted a recurring theme throughout the conference: cooperation remains essential if major projects are to move beyond planning documents and conference presentations.
From Discussion to Delivery
Kalokairinos also pointed to several initiatives that depend heavily on cooperation with the national government.
Among them are:
- The return of Heraklion’s Venetian Walls to local jurisdiction.
- Continued progress on the Northern Road Axis of Crete (BOAK).
- Broader efforts to strengthen development planning across the island.
These are important projects with potentially lasting impacts.
The challenge, as always, is not identifying priorities.
Crete rarely lacks studies, committees, strategies, or conference panels capable of diagnosing its problems.
The real test is whether future conferences will be discussing completed solutions instead of explaining once again why those solutions are still under construction.
For an island that has spent decades waiting for overdue infrastructure, residents may reasonably conclude that fewer presentations and more completed projects would be a welcome innovation.
