Privatisation fund and Lamda Development sign MoU to proceed with Hellinikon investment
The MoU features various improvements to the original deal, including a significant increase of the overall investment to eight billion euros, the completion of the investment in a shorter period of time and a condition to complete 80 pct of that investment in 12 years.
The basic design includes the upgrading of the beach, residential developments, superregional and local commerce, hotel facilities and recreational areas, utilization of the Olympic facilities and the creation of new sports facilities, a new golf course, venues that highlight our cultural heritage, educational facilities and research centers. Moreover, the investors will create, finance and maintain the largest Greek, and one of the largest in the world, Metropolitan Green and Recreational Park, which jointly with the public use green areas of the site will cover and aggregate area of 2.600.000m2, or 42 pct of the entire site.
“With the signing of a new agreement for Hellinikon, we outline the implementation of an investment that will seal the country's new path to development,” HRADF president Stergios Pitsiorlas said in a statement. “The significant improvement of the existing deal resolves the problems that formed the basis for objections in the previous period. In the coming years, the largest urban redevelopment project will be implemented that will create the largest urban park in Europe,” he added.
On their side, the President and CEO of Lamda Development, Tassos Giannitsis and Odisseas Athanasiou respectively, said this was an important step towards the direction of investment, employment and exploitation of new opportunities. “The Project will have multiple positive effects on other sectors and activities, it will create new expertise and a very large area will gain immense utility value for millions of Greek and foreign citizens,” they continued.
“Most importantly, this investment due to its size and qualitative characteristics, will install an important development axis in the economy of the country, and especially that of the Attica basin, which will become a reference point for many decades”.
Government spokeswoman Olga Gerovasili told reporters during Tuesday's press briefing that the memorandum improves the initial planning, with a final agreement to be signed in the coming months.