Details have emerged of a massive €8 billion private development of the site of the old Athens airport.
The Hellinikon project involves the redevelopment of 620 hectares of prime seaside property once used as the international airport for the Greek capital.
About 200 hectares of the site will be transformed into a luxury resort with six-star hotels, apartment blocks and shopping centres nestled in one of Europe’s biggest metropolitan parks.
Chinese conglomerate Fosun, owner of Club Med and shareholder in Thomas Cook, and Al Maabar, a property company linked to Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, are being tipped as key investors.
After three postponements last month alone, the Central Archaeological Council, the government’s advisory body on the protection of antiquities, will meet tomorrow to decide on the plan.
“We are confident that it will proceed,” a senior aide to Alexis Tsipras, the Greek prime minister, told The Times.
“The prime minister is committed to push this project forward.”