Company updates Handelsblatt: Athens Airport Sale Spearheads Greece’s Privatization Drive by GTP editing team 8 January 2020 written by GTP editing team 8 January 2020 0 comments Share 0FacebookTwitterLinkedinWhatsappEmail 30 The sale of a 30 percent stake in Athens International Airport SA (AIA) by Greece’s asset development fund is setting the country’s privatization drive into motion, said German business daily Handelsblatt. According to the report, Greece’s ambitious privatization plans are aiming to boost state coffers by 2.44 billion euros in 2020 with the AIA sale alone expected to generate 1 billion euros. According to Handelsblatt, Greece’s privatization efforts remained stagnant over the years “marred by unkept promises and failures” aiming initially to generate – according to pledges in 2011 – 50 billion euros in a five-year period. Instead, the Dusseldorf-based paper reports, by 2015 only 3.2 billion euros had been collected. Tedious red tape and legal issues exacerbated by investors avoiding crisis-era Greece are cited by Handelsblatt as the main reasons behind the failed attempts. The paper goes on to refer to the weak political will to move ahead with the privatization of public enterprises “that nurtured party patrons with lucrative positions”. The report goes on to underline the importance of AIA’s sale, which has thus far attracted the interest of 10 investors, as well as of plans to sell off 10 state-owned ports, with those of Alexandroupolis, Kavala, Igoumenitsa, and Corfu up for immediate development, and highways, among others. The paper concludes, that investor activity has picked up pace thanks in large part to a more stabilized economy which is restoring trust in Greece. Join the 15,000+ travel executives who read our newsletter Follow GTP Headlines on Google News to keep up to date with all the latest on tourism and travel in Greece. Share 0 FacebookTwitterLinkedinWhatsappEmail GTP editing team This is the team byline for GTP. The copyrights for these articles are owned by GTP. They may not be redistributed without the permission of the owner. previous post Greek PM’s White House Visit Sign of Stronger Ties with US next post Cruise Ship and Passenger Arrivals to Greece Rise in 2019 You may also like Greece’s Hotel Market Sees Major Investments Over Four Months 5 February 2025 Greek Tourism Ministry Monitors Santorini Situation as Seismic Activity Continues 5 February 2025 Global Air Passenger Demand Reaches Record High in 2024, IATA Reports 5 February 2025 Greek PM Reassures Public About Santorini’s Ongoing Seismic Activity 5 February 2025 Milos: Ministry Suspends 5-star Hotel Construction Near Sarakiniko Beach 5 February 2025 ELIME and HELMEPA Join Forces for Safer, More Sustainable Greek Ports 5 February 2025 Leave a Comment Cancel Reply Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ