A significant obstacle to the development of the former PYRKAL property in Dafni, which is intended for the creation of a government park, is the urban planning scheme, as well as the changes concerning the annulment of the NOC, according to experts.
The redevelopment, worth 422 million euros, which will be implemented through a PPP, is considered one of Athens' most important development projects. However, delays are being observed, as it is more complex than had initially been estimated.
Speaking yesterday in a panel discussion held as part of the 9th Infrastructure and Transport Conference - ITC 2026, Dimitris Samaras, President of the "Samaras & Partners" Group, referred to the usefulness of PPPs as financing tools, which mobilize private capital and create quality projects.
Nevertheless, he added, delays are being recorded, referring to the Dafni project.
"What is to blame? Unfortunately, the bureaucratic procedures that we have. There are two issues regarding this specific project, the government park", he explained.
One is that the special urban planning scheme, Mr. Samaras noted, is the basis on which the building terms, land uses, and the rest are determined.
"In general in Greece these spatial planning tools take about 2 years to be approved because they end up in a presidential decree. You understand, therefore, what this means," he stressed.
"What else did we have there? We had the decision of the Council of State, which annulled the NOC, as the project had been studied based on the incentives of the NOC, but a process starts again from the beginning", he added.
At the Government Park "Andreas Lentakis", a project also referred to as the "Little Elliniko" because of the impact it will have on the real estate market, not only will nine ministries be relocated, but state properties will also be freed up and utilized for the needs of affordable housing.
It is noted that the investment is on the radar of all the major "players" in the construction sector. In particular, interest in the redevelopment has been expressed by GEK Terna, AVAX-AKTOR Concessions and Metlen-Intrakat.
It is also recalled that appeals are pending before the Council of State by two local bodies seeking the annulment of the decision of the Ministry of Environment and Energy (YPEN) by which environmental approval was granted to the Special Urban Planning Scheme for the redevelopment.