Ios unveils development plan with infrastructure works

The Municipality of Ios presented a development plan for the island, which is based on a series of funded infrastructure projects, according to a report by Naxos Times on Sunday, 6 September 2026. The projects include upgrading the biodigester with tertiary treatment capability, budgeted at €5,196,000, which is referred to as already completed, and the sewerage network at Mylopotas, budgeted at €5,000,000, with completion scheduled for 2027. Also notable is the expansion of the port, a project of €11,300,000 that includes a new mooring front 183 metres long and additional berths, a detail expected to increase port capacity for vessels and passenger traffic.

The plan also includes opening of the agricultural road Kakavolo–Spithara, budgeted at €2,230,000, and construction of a new closed gymnasium with basketball court and accessibility specifications, valued at €1,862,000, a project affecting both school and amateur sports activity on the island. The Municipality of Ios also refers to planning of a nursery school, aimed at supporting families living permanently on the island who face a lack of child-care facilities outside the tourist season. In aggregate, the individual amounts announced for these projects amount to approximately €25.6 million, though the municipality has not presented this amount as a unified total grant.

The port expansion and sewerage network at Mylopotas address two of the most pressing infrastructure issues for an island receiving increased tourist traffic during summer months, the same period when water supply and infrastructure issues occupy the broader Cyclades, as shown in recent documentation of water supply conditions on four islands. The biodigester and Mylopotas sewerage are directly linked to water and waste-water management during peak periods, while the port expansion concerns the island’s maritime connection with the rest of the Cycladic area. The Municipality of Ios has not clarified which funding programmes cover each individual project, while the report does not clearly identify who politically signs off on the plan.

Alongside infrastructure projects, the municipality also points to cultural activities, such as the operation of the Gaiatis-Simossis Museum, which opened in September 2024 and has become established as a cultural space, as well as the 6th Ios Festival, with concerts, photography exhibition, open-air cinema and activities for children. Of the infrastructure projects, the one that remains ongoing with a completion horizon of 2027 is the sewerage network at Mylopotas, while for the port expansion no exact delivery schedule has been announced. The Municipality of Ios has also not clarified when the nursery school is expected to be tendered or funded, nor whether further stages of public presentation of the plan have been scheduled.