Greece holds one of Europe’s most strategic positions in transport networks and has a major advantage that ports such as Hamburg, Rotterdam and Antwerp lack: multiple connections.
Speaking at the 26th Panhellenic Logistics Conference in Thessaloniki, former World Economic Forum supply chain and transport chief Wolfgang Lehmacher said Greece should use all of its ports to build a multidimensional European platform rather than act as a single transport hub.
“Supply chains are flows of goods, data, energy and capital,” Lehmacher said. “Greece could be seen as a node, but more ambitiously it is a multidimensional network in an extremely strategic location. The more options you have to move products, the better.”
He pointed to Thessaloniki in the north, Alexandroupoli in the east and Patras in the west, alongside Piraeus, as opportunities to expand connectivity. He cautioned against focusing solely on Piraeus, saying a balanced network would strengthen individual ports and infrastructure.
Lehmacher urged Greece to adopt open governance and regulatory frameworks and integrate more deeply into Europe’s transport system, calling that “the broader Greek perspective.” ■