Green Property Development in Greece – Is a Sustainable Economy Viable?

The new Prime Minister of Greece, Georges Papandreou, made a powerful statement of intent when he announced that the Greek government would be seeking to push through its first green property development in Greece. Whilst visiting the Ilia prefecture, home of the site of Ancient Olympia and a region devastated by fires two years ago, the PM announced a scheme to completely redevelop the area and make it into a showpiece for sustainable development.

In one of his speeches before the election, Papandreou stated,

“PASOK’s green development strategy is based on three central policy pillars: environmental protection and urban planning, energy, and transport. In order to promote sustainable development and eco-friendly businesses, we have designed a series of policies that include: subsidies and tax breaks for companies investing in environmental technology or renewable energy, shifting the tax burden to operations and products that are harmful to the environment, introducing sustainable construction standards for all public works, and improving the energy efficiency of all public buildings.”

The Olympia Development

This plan for a green community is the first tenuous sign that there may be some substance behind the promises, a potential break from the status. The new leader of Greece showed that this scheme was more than mere bluster when he announced that he had employed, Josep Anton Acebillo, the architect responsible for the redevelopment of Barcelona for the 1992 Olympics, as a consultant.

The redevelopment of the Olympia region will include residential areas, green space and amenities. Also planned is the establishment of various sports facilities, tapping into the history and fame of this corner of Greece. Alongside residential areas, the birthplace of the Olympics will contain sports schools and various foundations to promote peace through sport. Certainly, the idea of promoting ‘sports tourism’ is intriguing and offers some potential for generating income and regrowth.

Economic Recovery and Green Property Development in Greece

This plan has been heralded as a flagship reform, aimed to show investors that Greece is serious about environmental reforms and plans to cut much of the bureaucracy and red-tape currently holding up many sustainable developments. Greece has a vast and underexploited potential for using solar and wind energy, and Greeks are already ahead of the game in installing solar water heating. Laws have already been submitted to parliament and the new Environment and Energy Minister, Dina Birbilli, is hoping for a quick resolution.

Olympia - Future Showcase for Green Property Development in Greece

The new administration hopes that this will stimulate economic growth and set Greece on the way to becoming as important as Denmark in the field of generating green energy. For green property investors with vast sums of money tied up in a tangle of Greek bureaucracy, this could be the best news for many years. For the beleaguered Greek construction industry, Green property investments in Greece could be the lifeline needed after the recent economic crisis.

As with all governmental directives, this one has yet to pass beyond the promise stage, but Green property development in Greece is certainly high on the agenda. The government hopes that this will kick-start the struggling Greek economy, although Papandreou has not yet made any indication of where the money will come from.

Most property developers will be hoping that there is substance behind these promises, because success means that the economy improves and property prices will rise. There is certainly nothing inherently wrong with the idea, only that Greek governments have a terrible tendency to mess things up. Whilst most people only voted PASOK into power through default, nobody seriously wants the government to fail and Papandreou will be given time to prove his intentions. However, he cannot afford to get this one wrong, as the electorate and media will not be merciful.