The ultimate goal of the Digital Transformation plan the government will put up for public consultation on Thursday is the overhaul of the entire state mechanism. This is a 340-page bill drafted by Digital Governance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis and his Deputy Giorgos Georgantas, including some 450 projects to be implemented by 2025.
The interventions planned – ranging from the development of a fifth-generation (5G) telephony network and the digitization of public services to the creation of an artificial intelligence platform – are seen utilizing funds of 6.4 billion euros, or 20% of the total budget of the Next Generation EU fund for Greece.
The projects are split into six strategic domains: connectivity, digital skills, the digital transformation of enterprises, digital public services, innovation, and utilization of advanced technologies. They concern all kinds of social and economic activity in the country, and even above it: This is no exaggeration, as one of the 450 projects concerns the development of a set of microsatellites to serve telecommunication and monitoring applications benefiting sectors such as government satellite services, mapping, maritime activity and shipping, precision agriculture, topography and town planning.
The blueprint classifies the proposed projects as short-term or medium-term, seen taking place over a period of up to 12 months or over a year respectively. It also describes the roadmap from the planning until the delivery of each project, and provides for the creation of a special platform recording the progress of every project the state entities will implement.
The plan is focused on the further strengthening of the single state digital portal (Gov.gr), broadband connectivity with a total of 15 projects such as the development of public wi-fi spots, and cybersecurity.
There are 25 projects for the sector of the economy, such as the creation of a digital system for the support of a new single framework for the settlement of debts and providing a second chance to debtors.