Investments

Greece is returning to growth and has become an attractive investment destination, according to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

A draft Presidential Decree, concerning the 1.5-billion-euro tourism investment of Atalanti Hills, has been submitted to the Council of State for approval.

The hotel sector on the islands of Crete and Rhodes will be boosted next year by a number of investments already in process or expected to take place.

A railway line handling passenger and freight transport between Thessaloniki and Istanbul could begin operations by 2019, experts said during a meeting in Thessaloniki.

Works on the Kastelli airport project on Crete are said to begin next spring after the finalization of the 480-million-euro deal and its parliamentary approval expected in early 2018.

Greek Tourism Minister Elena Kountoura invited French entrepreneurs to take advantage of the momentum and invest in Greece.

Dozens of luxury villas and restaurants as well as a fiber optics network will be constructed on the Ionian islet of Skorpios.

Lamda Development is ready to launch works at Hellinikon, as long as the Greek government displays the political will for the project to materialize.

Greece’s state privatization fund has launched two separate international public tenders for concessions for the marinas in Alimos and on Chios.

Eurobank has accepted the pre-emption right of Lampsa SA for the acquisition of the five-star King George Hotel for 43 million euros.

Development of the delayed multi-million-euro Hellinikon project is moving ahead “one step at a time”, according to Deputy Economy Minister Stergios Pitsiorlas.

Hellinikon Global, the managing investor of the Hellinikon project, said that the investment cannot proceed due to continuous set backs and political double speak.

One billion euros worth of investments are in the pipeline for Greece in the areas of tourism, energy, telecommunications and commerce.

Economy Minister Dimitris Papadimitriou and US Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt agreed to the creation of a Greek-US investment committee.

A total of 120m euros has been earmarked for the establishment of new and the completion of incomplete tourism enterprises, while applications open in December.

The multi-million-euro revamp of the Astir Palace will proceed according to schedule with plans to open its doors to the public in spring next year.

Of the 10 conditions for the Hellinikon project to move ahead only one has been met, while investors say it will take a decade to clear outstanding issues.

Increasing tourism flows and dropping prices are making Greek hotels an attractive investment choice with hospitality units on the islands winning over buyers.

Dolphin Capital has entered into an agreement with Kerzner for the development of a luxury tourism project on Kea in Greece.

The Hellinikon project is facing a new obstacle as the Central Archaeological Council (KAS) must now decide on whether or not to allow the construction of six high-rise buildings.