Greece on Thursday announced a €2.5 billion ($2.9 billion) investment plan to combat an escalating drought crisis threatening Athens, Thessaloniki, and dozens of islands over the next decade.

“It may snow, it may rain… but hope is not a strategy,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said at an event marking 100 years of the Athens Water Supply and Sewerage Company (EYDAP). “We must be prepared for the worst possible scenario.”

Officials said the southeastern Mediterranean nation is facing its most severe water shortage in three decades, with reserves dropping by about 250 million cubic metres annually since 2022.

Environment and Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou warned that more than half of Greece’s population could soon be affected. “The hydrological data shows that the water shortage persists and is intensifying… all the measurements show that we cannot wait any longer,” he said.

The 10-year plan includes diverting two tributaries of the River Achelous in western Greece, alongside new drilling and desalination projects. The €500 million Achelous project is expected to be completed by 2029.

“The goal is to ensure that the greater Athens area will never have a water supply problem for the next 30 years,” Mitsotakis said.

EYDAP, which serves about 4.4 million people, reported a 6.2 percent rise in water consumption last year due to high temperatures.

Papastavrou said Greece now ranks 19th globally in terms of water shortage risk, and faces a 25 percent decline in rainfall and a 15 percent rise in evaporation each year. “After Cyprus, our country will face the highest water stress in southern Europe,” he said.

The plan also aims to consolidate more than 700 local water companies, with EU support, to reduce losses and improve irrigation management. EYDAP and the Thessaloniki water company EYATH will absorb most of these smaller providers.

Nationwide, water network losses are as high as 50 percent. “In Singapore and Israel, every drop is used two and three times,” Papastavrou noted.

EYDAP has already committed to replacing over 600 kilometres of old pipelines in the next four years.

Another 150 water infrastructure projects worth over €320 million are currently underway across more than 40 islands, according to the government.

Greece’s last major drought crisis occurred in the early 1990s, when Mitsotakis’ father was prime minister.

EYDAP reported a 28 percent fall in profits in 2024 to €14.6 million and recorded a €5.6 million net loss in the first half of 2025,reflecting both the strain of rising water demand and the cost of infrastructure investment.

Officials say the new decade-long plan is meant to safeguard the country’s water security before the next dry spell turns into a national emergency.