A wide Parliament majority, including MPs of main opposition SYRIZA, on Tuesday evening ratified a law transferring shares from a state-owned holding company to Lamda Development, the developer and concessionaire of the massive Hellenic real estate project in coastal southeast Athens.
The law transfers to Lamda, through the future acquisition of the shares held by Elliniko S.A., of 30 percent of the land of the Helleniko tract, namely, 180 hectares. The site hosted Athens' sole commercial airport for decades until roughly 20 years ago, along with military airbases and affiliated facilities.
The concession for the entire site will extend for 99 years.
ATHEX-listed Lamda Development won an international tender for the concession to develop and exploit the site, with its master plan now including high-rise towers, a casino resort, a marina, hotels, a shopping mall and upscale residences.
The entire project is billed as worth more than seven billion euros, one of the biggest property developments in Europe.
However, the project has been plagued with legal and bureaucratic hurdles for years, along with colliding with Greece's nearly decade-long recession.
However, the iconic privatization is listed in bailout agreements successive Greek governments signed, one of the recent that the previous leftist SYRIZA government begrudgingly support the project - and possibly the reason
