INVESTMENT

Kassiopi Project, budgeted at over 120 million euros, entails construction on 7 pct of an area of 49.5 hectares (495 stremmas), which will remain green. It will involve a 5-star hotel with 90 rooms and 76 suites, and up to 40 separate luxury villas. It is expected to create 1,000 new jobs to begin with and 500 new jobs once completed, and will include a marina for nearly 60 yachts along with resupply stations.

Government officials believe that if the investment projects, most of which are in tourism, are launched by the end of this year then the benefits to the economy will be maximized.

A bill recently submitted to parliament by Energy and Environment Minister Kostis Hatzidakis includes two regulations, which are seen as moving in the right direction. If they are implemented (a long-term problem of the Greek state), they will then be able to significantly accelerate licensing procedures.

The plan involves the construction of an elevated highway from the height of Papageorgiou Hospital to an area called Konstantinopolitika and then the widening of the road until Kardia.

Niki Symboura, CEO of Cushman & Wakefield Proprius, said in a recent online discussion organized by Prodexpo that "the information we have from our partners abroad is that there are still several foreign investors interested in being positioned in the Greek market. Of course, in the coming months, there will be a decline in sales, but we believe that there will be a recovery by the end of the year. "

Deputy Foreign Minister Kostas Fragogiannis spoke of "new strategic investments by the foreign ministry and Enterprise Greece in full coordination with the ministry of development and investments, the ministry of [environment and energy] and the ministry of tourism".

"We are strengthening our relationship with the business community of Qatar interesting in investing in Greece, and initiating an approach to the country's political leadership," the minister said to Greek press during the forum's second and last day.

"As the privatization of the port of Alexandroupolis is drawing nearer, it is important that I find myself here, accompanied by associates and representatives of Japanese companies located in Athens, Thessaloniki and Istanbul," Shimizu said, of the port, which is being turned into a major energy hub in the East Mediterranean through LNG trade, among other projects.

Greece is pushing ahead with two luxury tourism investments in Crete and the Peloponnese, worth some 850 million euros, that have been caught up in red tape for more than ten years. Permits are being issued for the Kilada Hills resort, an investment located in the eastern Peloponnese' Argolida area, and the Elounda Hills resorts in northern Crete.

Greece's sale of a 30 percent stake in the Athens International Airport drew stronger than expected investor interest, in what could earn the country more than 1.5 billion euros in revenues, while also giving a major push to its stalled privatizations program. Expected dividends of 1.1 billion euros connected to the 30 percent stake between 2026 to 2046 drew ten bids from some of the world's largest investors in infrastructure and airport management companies.