The Silversands Mykonos, a luxury hotel complex being developed on Mykonos through Silver Sands Tourist Enterprises Single-Member S.A. (Silver Sands S.A.), as part of the investment activities of Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris, is entering a new stage of the environmental permitting process.
In a document dated 9 November 2026, the Decentralised Administration of the Aegean forwarded the project’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to the competent services for their opinions, while calling on the Region of the South Aegean to take the required steps to publish it and launch a public consultation.
The development concerns an investment project whose total cost N. Sawiris himself has put at about €100 million, including, according to previous comments, additional expenses incurred as a result of delays to its implementation.
The request to expedite the process
According to the permitting history set out in the document from the Decentralised Administration of the Aegean, the completed Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) dossier was uploaded to the Electronic Environmental Register on 18 March 2026, following earlier correspondence.
On 24 September 2026, a request to expedite the process was submitted by a representative of Silver Sands.
The forwarding of the assessment marks a further step in the permitting process. Once the required procedures have been completed, the competent authority will consider issuing an Approval of Environmental Terms, in accordance with current legislation.
What the investment plan involves
According to the EIA, the project involves building a five-star hotel and a health and wellness facility, as well as integrating them operationally with a neighbouring tourist complex, also rated five stars.
The complex will have a total capacity of 212 beds and is planned for the Tripodi area of Ano Mera, Mykonos.
The investment project spans two adjoining plots with a combined area of 41,780.08 square metres, or about 4.2 hectares. The first covers 26,170.08 sq m and the second 15,610 sq m. The EIA treats them as a single hotel development through their operational integration.
According to the environmental assessment, the complex includes wings of bungalow-style rooms, arranged in separate groups of buildings, as well as five detached luxury villas.
The planned facilities include a restaurant, gym, spa, hammam, multi-purpose room, leisure areas, and shared and private swimming pools.
In terms of its commercial identity, the resort, which has so far been presented under the name Silversands Mykonos, is intended to become the starting point for a new international luxury hospitality brand being developed by the group associated with N. Sawiris.
The plans are linked to ORA Hospitality, the hotel arm of Ora Developers, and envisage the creation of a distinct hotel brand with the potential to expand into other destinations.
The investment’s financials
The company’s 2025 financial statements show that significant capital has already been invested in developing Silversands Mykonos.
In particular, the book value of Silver Sands’ fixed assets, which include the hotel project under construction, reached €78.87 million at the end of 2025, up from €45.5 million a year earlier. In 2025 alone, the company spent €31.5 million on investment in fixed assets.
The company is financing the project through bank borrowing and funds from its shareholder. At the end of 2025, bank loans stood at €37.7 million, while a €6.55 million share capital increase was carried out during the year to fund construction.
As for the agreement covering the larger of the two plots on which the complex is being developed, the financial statements say that Silver Sands leased about 26,200 square metres of land on Mykonos in 2018 under a 99-year contract.
Total rent was initially set at €26 million, but was increased to €29 million following an amendment to the contract in 2024.
The EIA, meanwhile, puts the estimated budget for the facility under consideration at €20 million, excluding VAT. This includes buildings, landscaping, infrastructure, roads, and green and leisure spaces.
In any event, Silversands Mykonos is one of the major projects associated with N. Sawiris’ presence in the Greek market. According to the timetable presented by the businessman himself, the complex is due to open in May 2027.
Profile
A longstanding figure in Greek business, the Egyptian billionaire has for decades ranked among the Middle East’s and Africa’s best-known business leaders, with interests in telecommunications, mining, real estate and tourism.
Born in Cairo in 1954, he comes from the family that founded the Orascom group. His name became closely associated with the growth of Orascom Telecom into one of the largest telecommunications groups in emerging markets, as well as with the 2011 deal with VimpelCom.
In Greece, his most significant business presence was through Weather Investments, which acquired control of TIM Hellas, later renamed Wind Hellas.
In recent years, he has turned his attention to real estate and tourism infrastructure development through Ora Developers, which he founded in 2016 and which operates in luxury housing, hotels and mixed-use developments in international markets.