Developing state property
The government will submit a plan on developing state-held land in the autumn. The plan will be implemented through the state property company (KED), Hellenic Tourism Properties (ETA) and Olympic Properties, a company set up to manage the majority of Olympic venues. The Ministry of Defense will also contribute to the effort through consolidating its forces and freeing several army camps for lease or sale to the private sector. Last Friday, the heads of the three state property companies met with Economy and Finance Minister Giorgos Alogoskoufis and Development Minister Dimitris Sioufas to coordinate their strategies. The three companies will be required to submit their plans by early September, in any case ahead of the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF), where the prime minister traditionally outlines the coming year’s economic policies. The plans will point out those properties ready for leasing, sale or securitization. Their development must raise no legal or environmental issues. According to sources, a great part of the revenues from long-term leasing of state-owned land will be used to reduce Greece’s big public debt, which still stands at over 100 percent of the country’s GDP. ETA has already been devising a plan to develop several camping sites, the Alimos marina, the Corfu casino and the Parnassos ski resort. The greatest difficulty will lie in finding private investors for the several new Olympics installations, as sports federations clearly lack the means to maintain them.
