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Greece may start selling islands
26-06-2010 19:34
Striving to stay afloat under a heavy debt burden, Greece is preparing to sell, or lease some of its islands, according to the Guardian newspaper.
“Greece is making it easier for the rich and famous to fulfill their dreams by preparing to sell, or offering long-term leases on, some of its 6,000 sunkissed islands in a desperate attempt to repay its mountainous debts,” the newspaper said in a story on Friday.
According to Guardian sources, an area in Mykonos, one of Greece’s top tourist destinations, is one of the sites for sale. “The area is one-third owned by the government, which is looking for a buyer willing to inject capital and develop a luxury tourism complex, according to a source close to the negotiations,” the newspaper said.
Potential investors looking at property on the island of Rhodes are mostly Russian and Chinese, the paper said. “Investors in both countries are looking for a little bit of the Mediterranean as holiday destinations for their increasingly affluent populations. Roman Abramovich, the billionaire owner of Chelsea football club, is among those understood to be interested, although a spokesman denied he was about to invest,” said the Guardian.
Only 227 Greek islands are populated and the decision to press ahead with potential sales has also been driven by the inability of the state to develop basic infrastructure, or police most of its islands. “The hope is that the sale or long-term lease of some islands will attract investment that will generate jobs and taxable income,” according to the story.
Greece has cut spending, raised taxes and trimmed wages to tackle its huge budget deficit, which swelled to 13.6 percent of gross domestic product, or GDP, last year, more than four times the EU limit.
To secure an aid package from the EU and the International Monetary Fund, the government pledged to trim the shortfall to 8.1 percent of GDP this year and bring it back under the 3 percent EU ceiling in 2014. The package amounts to 110 billion euros ($134.5 billion).
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