Reports: Final signatures readied for emblematic Helleniko privatization

The most emblematic real estate project in Greece in recent memory is reportedly days or weeks away from actually witnessing the first construction, as Friday, June 25, will witness the transfer of shares for the Helleniko site, according to reports in Athens on Wednesday.

The coastal Helleniko site in southeast Athens, officially called the “Metropolitan Helleniko Pole”, encompasses the land where the Greek capital’s old airport once operated, and still hosts disused terminals, runways, auxiliary buildings, parking lots, outdoor 2004 Olympics venues and acres of arid weed-infested fields.

Reports on Wednesday pointed to next week for a signing ceremony, whereby real estate shares of the property will be transferred by the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF), Greece’s semi-autonomous privatization agency, to Lamda Development, which holds the concession for the entire project.

Once signed, the ATHEX-listed property developer must make an initial payment of 300 million euros to the Greek state, as per the concession agreement.

The 620-hectare tract of land is at the center of the burgeoning “Athens Riviera”, characterized by upscale lodgings, beaches, marinas, hotels and entertainment. Nevertheless, more than two decades have passed since the Athens airport was relocated, and seven years since Lamda Development won an international tender to develop and exploit the property.

Wednesday’s reports coincided with another Council of State (CoS) ruling, the same day, rejecting yet another lawsuit against the project.

Numerous legal challenges, bureaucratic obstacles and foot-dragging, political opposition by adjacent municipalities and by left-of-center parties, as well as nearly a decade of a punishing economic crisis, caused years of delay for the developer.

Lamda has billed the project as valued at more than seven billion euros, featuring several high-rise buildings, including five-star hotels, an integrated resort casino, new marinas, single-story upscale residences and a surrounding park, the largest urban greenspace in Greece.