By T. Igoumenidi
A committee of experts, as foreseen by Greek law and appointed by the government, this week recommended the immediate promotion of a landmark property redevelopment project that ranks among the biggest privatizations mandated by a third bailout memorandum still in effect.
The decision, by the relevant experts’ committee, noted that the Helleniko project should proceed unhindered based on a master development plan submitted by a Lamda Development-led international consortium, “without further delays and indecisiveness (on the part of the leftist-rightist coalition government) over the plan”.
A report that accompanies the clear-cut recommendation, as presented by “N”, notes that certain points in the master plan can be improved and clarified, i.e. traffic management in the areas surrounding the planned seven-billion-euros real estate development in coastal southeast Athens. Other observations deal with construction on the seafront of the project – facing the Saronic Gulf – and the necessity of a projected 200-hectare park to be open to the public and easily accessible.
The Helleniko project is set to transform the land where the old Athens airport operated, along with adjoining tracts of state-owned properties and facilities, into one of the biggest real estate projects in Europe.
Nevertheless, ubiquitous Greek administrative “red tape” and slow-moving licensing procedures by relevant ministries – particularly the culture ministry – have delayed the project for months. At the same time, a deep-seated disdain of major private sector investments by most of Greece’s leftwing formations, including several high-profile cadres in ruling SYRIZA, have also negatively affected the current government’s leeway in facilitating the project.
