Nea Makri: 982,528 euros for the Zouberi cabins

Funding of 982,528.65 euros for 2026 was announced on Thursday 20 August 2026 for the Ministry of Education’s accommodation site at Zouberi in Nea Makri, in the Municipality of Marathonas. According to Marathon Press, the sum covers works on 214 cabins, on the communal areas and on the basic infrastructure of a site extending over roughly 11 hectares. It is one of the largest state-run accommodation complexes in Eastern Attica, with two kitchen blocks, an administration building, a wastewater treatment unit, two substations and 36 buildings in total. The announcement concerns the complex as a whole and not individual buildings.

The breakdown of the budget shows where the weight of the work lies. Some 371,291.51 euros go to fire safety, a closed-circuit surveillance system, fencing and asbestos removal. Another 132,137.14 euros are earmarked for studies on renovating the cabins and the communal areas, as well as for accessibility works and electromechanical installations. The sum of 367,500 euros covers new equipment, that is furniture, electrical appliances and one electric vehicle. Operating costs include 74,400 euros for cleaning and 37,200 euros for the running and maintenance of the wastewater treatment plant. The largest part of the sum, that is more than three quarters, goes to the security of the facilities and to equipment, while operating expenses remain comparatively limited.

Alongside the funding, the management of the site is also changing. By a decision of Education Minister Sofia Zacharaki, a new unpaid five-member board was set up, with a term running to 31 May 2027 and with representatives of OSEKDYP, POSYP, OLME, DOE and POE. For Nea Makri and the wider Municipality of Marathonas, the undertaking concerns a site with a long history: it operated as school camps from 1948 to 2003, hosted needs of the 2004 Olympic Games and the 2011 Special Olympics, and since 2025 has also housed Fire Service personnel. The removal of asbestos and the upgrading of fire safety directly concern the people who stay there every summer.

Over the coming period the new board is called on to set the studies and the contract awards in motion, since part of the sum concerns studies rather than construction work directly. No detailed implementation timetable has been announced, nor a start date for the works on the cabins. The undertaking fits the logic of targeted funding for infrastructure in Attica, like the infrastructure projects under way in other municipalities, among them the stormwater networks in Palaio Faliro. It also remains unknown whether the works will affect accommodation during the next summer season and how the works will be distributed among the 214 cabins. The state of the site will be judged by how quickly the approvals turn into contracts and a working site.