Lamda reacts to minister’s Elliniko plot claims
Lamda Development, the winning bidder for the development of the old Athens airport plot at Elliniko, came out with a firm response to Productive Reconstruction and Environment Minister Panayiotis Lafazanis’s claims of a “scandalous” acquisition, saying they are unfounded and that his attitude discourages much-needed foreign investment.
Lafazanis told Parliament: “The acquisition of Elliniko was scandalous and the development plans are extremely destructive to the environment. We will review this scandalous purchase with the aim of canceling it.” However, Lamda responded by insisting that the tender and the winning bid were all legal.
“[The statements] ignore an absolutely legitimate procedure that was based on the relevant legislation as well as the fact that the relevant contract that was signed stands under the irrevocable decision/approval of the Court of Audit, which is anticipated and we shall fully respect,” Lamda said in a statement on Wednesday.
It further noted that referring to an “extremely anti-environmental development tends to ignore the importance of the project, which is primarily aimed at upgrading the quality of life in the wider area through developing one of the largest metropolitan parks of greenery and recreation worldwide, which will redefine Athens environmentally.”
Lamda concluded that “Mr Lafazanis’s statements send a discouraging message to the long-term private international investors that our country desperately needs.”
