Ellinikon Projects Moving Ahead as Scheduled
Works at the highly-anticipated, multi-billion-euro The Ellinikon project to go up at the former Athens airport and breathe new life into the Athenian Riviera are moving ahead as scheduled with the first building to be completed by the end of summer, announced developer of the project Lamda Development.
More specifically, according to ANA-MPA, the first building to be completed budgeted at 15 million euros will house four major disabilities organizations as part of the company’s corporate social responsibility strategy.
Other parts of the project proceeding include moving Poseidonos Ave underground via tunnel work, to be delivered in December 2024; the Riviera Tower, the first “green” waterfront skyscraper in Greece; and the redevelopment of the coastal front.
The flagship commercial and recreational hub, the largest privately-funded investment in Greek history and the biggest greenfield urban infrastructure development investment in Europe, will include an impressive range of projects including Europe’s largest coastal park and the first “smart” park in Greece – The Ellinikon Park, and the country’s first integrated resort and casino (IRC): INSPIRE Athens.
Once completed, The Ellinikon is expected to increase international tourism arrivals to Attica by 1 million, create more than 75,000 jobs, and contribute 2.5 percent to GDP generating tax revenue to the tune of 14 billion euros.
Last month, Construction firms TEMES SA and Lamda Development announced that they had finalized their agreement to develop two 5-star hotels and a number of branded residences along the Athenian Riviera scheduled to be completed by the end of 2026 and part of the project.
Meanwhile, more than 1.5 million people have already visited the Experience Park, the first part of the metropolitan park completed in 2021.
As part of The Ellinikon works, Lamda Development has moved ahead with one of the largest landscaping projects in Greece as part of the company’s sustainability goals. Operations began with construction works and include the protection and replanting of more than 3,000 trees located on the Hellinikon site. Some 2,000 trees have already been transferred to special nurseries and from there will gradually be replanted in the Metropolitan Park and public areas of the project.
Lets hope that cement doesn’t win the day here (as it has in much of Greece in the 70s & 80s and onwards) & that they will be true to their word and allocate the planned spaces for Parks & Green areas.
I wish some of the old aircraft hangars could have been converted into movie sound stages making Athens the Hollywood of Europe. Huge opportunity missed to bring billions in film productions ultimately promoting Greece’s infinite wonders to the world.