Lamda Develomplent, a prominent Greek development fund recently announced plans to create a ‘world-class resort’ at the former Athens airport of Elliniko that could be bring around four billion euros to Greece’s economy.
Situated eight kilometres (five miles) south of Athens, Hellinikon and an adjoining 337-berth marina span nearly 620 hectares and include a waterfront of about 3.5 kilometres.
For Lamda Development associate Russell Kett, the Elliniko overhaul will contribute significantly to the increase of tourism in Athens. The world class resort will attract more travelers to the Greek capital, especially those that are not just interested in antiquities.
The chairman of London-based tourism analysts HVS told the "To Vima" newspaper that he believes that this investment will bring unprecedented growth.
As Mr. Kett explains:
“The challenge for Athens in recent years is to persuade its visitors to return. You cannot suddenly discover new antiquities and the people that come to Athens need another reason to visit the area. Elliniko project is part of this effort,” he notes.The project that will cost approximately seven billion euros aims to transform the Elliniko area into an international resort which will include five hotels with a capacity of 2,000 beds and is expected to attract 1 million additional tourists, offering Athens an additional three million nights per year and extending the average length of stay in the city from 1.9 to 2.5 nights.
Attractions cannot be recreated
The project will also help the Greek tourism product to mature and reach a new phase,” says Mr Kett. He points out that “there are many ways to upgrade Greece as a destination of the international tourism scene.”
One of them is “to offer a tourism product that people want”.
“In many countries, the investments in the hotel sector are not sufficient and nowdays, when the people decide on their journey, they are not just looking at the brochures of the travel agency. They consult Trip Advisor and similar websites and read about the experiences of previous clients. These comments affect them positively or negatively,” noted Mr. Kett.More about the Project:
The investment is estimated at 7 bil. Euros and from what has been announced will transform the area of the old international Athens airport into the largest privately funded investment ever in Greece; an integrated urban development that will combine the area’s natural beauty and unique characteristics with emblematic buildings, state-of-the-art infrastructure offering world-class service and amenities which will improve the standard of living of Attiki area’s millions of inhabitants.
More exactly, it includes the creation of one of world’s biggest parks, with free and easy access to all. Equivalent to London’s Hyde Park and 15 times as big as Athens’ National Park, the 2,000,000-square-meter park will be Attiki’s green lung.
The beachfront will be upgraded with the creation of a new, continuous, 1 km. beach in the area of Aghios Kosmas. The Olympic venues and other historical and architectural landmark buildings will be upgraded, so that the country’s contemporary heritage is highlighted and can become more readily accessible to the public.
Also the makeover of Hellinikon will have multiple benefits for the local community, mainly through the improvement and modernization of basic infrastructure works and the creation of new ones. Specifically, apart from the expansion and upgrade of the road network, pedestrian and cycle routes will be constructed so as to facilitate residents and visitors.
Further provisions for numerous playgrounds, an International Health Centre and an International Education Center, along with numerous public venues, will breathe new life to the residents of neighboring municipalities. Significant attention will also be given to the relocation of NGOs currently housed in Hellinikon, so that they can continue operating undistracted.
The best part, however, is the development project will result in the creation of almost 50.000 new job placements until 2025, 20.000 of which will open during construction and the rest 30.000 following completion.
Furthermore, the project is estimated to contribute to Greece’s GDP by 2% per year until 2025, while the overall taxes and social contributions are estimated to exceed 10 billion Euros.
In short, the investment will include a diverse range of residential communities, hotels, shopping centres, individual shops, theme parks, art and cultural museums, outdoor cultural venues, health and wellness centers, sport and recreational venues, the creation of a state-of-the-art business, educational, R&D hub as well as the total regeneration of the existing marina and the coastal front that will be open and accessible to all visitors.
The total investment of Lamda Development A.S. and Global Investment Group amounts to 915 milion Euro for the acquisition of 100% of the share capital of HELLINIKO S.A. and b) 1,25 billion Euro for the implementation of social infrastructure (site clearance, parks, roads, playgrounds, coastal front, transportation means, connections with existing transportation means) reaching a total of 2.1 billion Euro.
Best of all, Hellinikon’s reconstruction will attract foreign tourists and investors and Greece and Athens, will finally strengthen its position as an international tourist destination, gaining 1.000.000 additional tourists each year.
(Sources, To Vima, ProtoThema and Lamda Development)
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