The Municipality of Spata–Artemida has commissioned a study to determine whether its infrastructure can support data centres. Under Decision 813/2026, signed by the mayor, Dimitris Markou, and published on the Diafania transparency portal on Friday 30 October, the service ‘Support for the process of assessing the load-bearing capacity of infrastructure for the siting of data centres’ is directly awarded to ALDES Consulting Engineers IKE, trading as ALDES ENG, based in Athens. The fee is 28,800 euros plus VAT, totalling 35,712 euros.
This follows on from the allocation of 35,836 euros that we reported on 8 October, at a time when the consultant had not yet been announced. ALDES’s bid came in 124 euros below the amount it had committed to.
How the contract was awarded
The decision sets out the process. On 26 August, the Directorate for the Environment, Green Spaces and Civil Protection submitted the initial application, and on 2 September approval of the expenditure was requested. The funds were committed on 8 October. On 13 October, the mayor approved study 126/2026 from the same Department, which describes the service, and the following day a call for tenders was issued. ALDES submitted a tender on 22 October and the contract was signed on 30 October.
The decision refers only to ALDES’s tender and deems it ‘the most advantageous for the Municipality from a financial point of view, based on price’. It is not clear whether others were invited to tender. The amount excluding VAT is below the threshold of 30,000 euros, up to which a contract may be awarded directly, without a tender process.
What the ruling does not say
The text does not specify what the consultant is to deliver, nor within what timeframe. The service is listed as a ‘lot’, with the code ‘Technical analysis or consultancy services’. The deliverables are set out in study 126/2026, which is not attached to the contract notice on the Diafania portal. We also do not know whether the results will be made public or discussed at the Municipal Council. This is the first thing worth asking for, as the study concerns electricity, water, roads and stormwater drainage systems which residents also use.
Why it matters
‘Carrying capacity’ refers to whether an area’s electricity grid, water supply, roads and stormwater drainage systems can cope with a new load in addition to what they already serve. A data centre requires a great deal of electricity for its servers and cooling systems, water or air for its cooling systems, generators for backup power, and heavy vehicles during the construction phase. The title of the service refers to ‘siting’, that is, where such a use may be permitted, not just for projects that have already been granted planning permission.
In Spata, three such projects are already at different stages, as we explained on 21 October: Microsoft’s project in the business park, a second project with environmental conditions approved, and the PPC–DAMAC project, for which a case is pending before the Council of State. The Municipal Council, in its opinion on the new Special Spatial Framework for Industry on 30 June, stated that ‘the existence of the necessary public infrastructure must be a prerequisite and not a subsequent promise’. The study that has now been commissioned will provide the Municipality with data to support this position when it is called upon to give its opinion on future projects.
Source: Municipality of Spata–Artemida, Mayor’s Decision No. 813/2026 (direct award), Diaugia, 30 October 2026.
