Minoan Group Crete Project Still Awaiting Greek Court Announcement

A major five-star-plus project to be developed on the island of Crete by travel and leisure giant Minoan Group,  is awaiting an official announcement by Greece’s highest court in order to proceed, said the group’s chairman Christopher Egleton on occasion of the announcement of the company’s – listed on London’s Aim market – annual results.

Valued at some 267 million euros, the luxury holiday resort named ”Itanos Gaia” will be erected at the Cavo Sidero peninsula, Northeastern Crete, in the prefecture of Lasithi and aims to become a landmark of sustainable tourism.

According to Minoan Group, the investment, which includes five hotels with a capacity of 1,936 beds, an 18-hole golf course, a conference hall and wellness center, is expected to create 1,200 permanent jobs and another 2,000 for local suppliers.

Egleton said that despite the economic uncertainty in Greece, hindering developments, the group is still keeping a positive outlook for the Itanos Gaia project, adding that its development will not be an easy task due to complex real estate transaction procedures.

The company had initially applied for approval to build the holiday retreat in 1991 but had to overcome legal obstacles after residents and environmental organisations opposed the project.

Meanwhile, referring to Minoan Group’s preliminary results for the year ending 31 October 2016, Egleton said the Travel & Leisure section increased revenues despite the impact of Brexit to 7,317 million pounds against 6.816 million pounds in the same period a year ago.

The Glasgow-based group, which opened in England and Northern Ireland for the first time, owns and operates a number of travel agencies.