Despite Prime Minister Antonis Samaras claiming to work towards developing an «Attic Riviera», which would extend from Faliro to Sounio, the government has decided to sell off prime coastal real estate assets via TAIPED, rather than transfer the assets to the Attic Coastal Front company that was set up explicitly for that purpose.
Amongst the assets which were transferred to TAIPED which will to be privatized are a 176-acre plot of land that extends from the Sport Center at Agios Kosmas to the “Asteria” in Glyfada, a 20-acre plot in Glyfada and the 383-acre Aspro Lithari in Sounio. The transfer of the assets to TAIPED was approved and signed by the key cabinet Ministers of Finances Yannis Stournaras, Culture Panos Panagiotopoulos, Growth Kostis Hatzidakis, Infrastructure Michalis Chrysochoidis, Health Adonis Georgiadis, Tourism Olga Kefalogianni, Justice Charalambos Athanasiou and Environment Yannis Maniatis just a few days before a rumored cabinet reshuffle, which has raised questions.
The Attic Coastal Front company was established in order to oversee an international urban planning competition for a master development plan of the “Riviera”. After legalities regarding the use of the land were overcome, the company would then seek out investors, with the company expected to generate 4 to 9 billion euros per year. It should be noted that about a year ago the Ministry of Growth and TAIPED clashed over the inclusion of prime real estate assets, such as Lagonisi and Asteras.
Aside from the prime real estate on the Attic coast, the government has transferred many other valuable assets, including the Ski Center on Parnassus, “Xenia” hotels, the tourist port of Zea in Piraeus, land belonging to the rural prison in Kassandra, a 1,000-square-meter asset in Manhattan, New York, a former sanatorium in Pieria and many more.
