A £10 billion megaproject set to transform Athens has been likened to Europe’s answer to Dubai.
Only 20 minutes from Athens city centre and 35 minutes from Athens International Airport, the Lamada Development CEO, Odisseas Athanasiou, has dubbed the development site as a “15-minute city”.
Athenian businessman, Petros Tsitsiricos, 59, told the Daily Mail that the Ellinikon Project had also attracted foreign investment, creating an estimated 75,000 jobs within the local economy.
Despite the fact the Greek capital is widely known and adored for its ancient buildings and historic culture like the Pantheon, the city is on the path to a multi-billion pound real estate injection that could greatly benefit the city.
The project features a marina for mega yachts, various luxury hotels, 8,000 upmarket homes, restaurants, a casino, and a 600-acre public park that will connect to the beach on a land area three times the size of Monaco.
Peppy Koliakakou, a 50-year-old Athenian saleswoman and resident, also told the outlet: “There should have been other alternatives to developing the decrepit airport, not a complete sell-out to foreign interests.”
She also expressed her worries about it transforming into a “mini Dubai”.
Alongside these developments, the Riviera Tower is expected to be one of the site’s most prominent attractions and will be Greece’s first residential skyscraper, sitting at 200m high.
Offering panoramic views of both the Athenian Riviera and the Acropolis from 169 apartments across 50 floors, the tower will be accessible by multiple public transport routes, specifically, two metro stations and a tramline.
The glass and concrete-filled complex is unfolding across 1,500 acres of land, over what used to be the Ellinikon International Airport which closed down in 2001 to make room for the Eleftherios Venizelos airport, built to support the 2004 Olympic Games.
Locals fear the huge industrial project featuring 650ft-towers will ultimately lead to “all Greekness wiped out”, as construction leaders claim that Athens will be developed and transformed by the neighbourhood.
Athanasiou has stated that “it’s about providing a full lifestyle solution which sets new global standards. It is destined to become the ‘smartest’ and greenest city in Europe”.
Expected to be completed within the next ten years, the development company aims to build the complex with as many recycled materials as possible.
Athanasiou added that “the Ellinikon will have a transformative effect on both Greece and the world”, residents fear its effects on the environment, its spatial land usage, and jilt to the currently residing population.