On housing policy issues, as well as on the project to create a state park on the site of the former PIRKAL, from which at least 40 million dollars will be saved annually, Minister of State Akis Skertsos mentioned in his interview at the 1st Era Program.

He began by saying that the government systematically and without much publicity within 1-1.5 years began “systematic accounting of public real estate, for the first time in post-political history.” This is an issue related to cheaper housing, the state minister explained. The increase in the supply of real estate will lead to lower prices, he added, and reported on “important statements by the Prime Minister at the International Fair in Thessaloniki.” We have been working on a range of proposals, interventions and policies to improve accessibility, especially for young people, to cheaper real estate,” he predicted.

We should take good examples from foreign cities with significant tourist flow, he said, after all, “the center of every big city cannot become a huge tourist area, we must protect many and various uses, this means a vibrant, dynamic and democratic center of a large city,” he stressed, insisting that “Athens cannot be a single-themed Disneyland of tourism. And here we need to open a discussion about the conditions under which someone rents Airbnb.

In a nutshell, one could speak of a “strategic plan with short, medium and long term actions.” Asked what could happen in the short term, he replied: “We can and will do a lot of interventions with state aid shares that will immediately fall into the hands of the beneficiaries.”

Nine Ministries Resettlement Program

Analyzing then what he called the “ambitious” state park plan, he first pointed out that “it shows the work that is being done away from the spotlight.”

However, looking at the matter from the very beginning, “Over the past three years, we have found that the Greek state has very important real estate, but in respect of which it has not done the slightest work in terms of registration, classification and use for decades. It. We found, for example, that we have 19 ministries located in the pool in 191 buildings, of which 141 are rented. Although he owns his own property, he rents it out for $60 million a year.”

Therefore, he concluded, the amount is “enormous” and by calculating that if at least 40 million can be saved, they “could finance important social policies, we can expand the safety net for vulnerable social strata. Here you have to do household chores, which, of course, takes time.

In more detail about the future government park, he said that it is “an excellent property of 157 acres in the municipality of Dafni-Imittos, 3 kilometers from the center of Athens” but, on the other hand, “a foreign body in the municipality.”

There, according to the government plan, “nine of the 19 ministries that are divided throughout Attica” will be transferred there, as he said, giving two examples: “The Ministry of Development is currently divided into 37 buildings throughout Athens, the Ministry of Finance in 19 buildings. This is an image of a third world country,” said A. Scherz.

Assuring that many public services will continue to operate in the center, he explained, however, that the presence of such services in itself is not a solution. The center “dies” after a while, in the afternoon, he said and stressed that “in the plan that we are working on, a lot of attention will be paid to attracting multi-use. The center of Athens should be populated in the first place, ”he set such a goal.

This implies incentives for cheaper housing for young people who will live in “economically and socially dying areas”. We have seen a significant deterioration in the state of the center of Athens over the past 10-15 years.”

In addition, the state park project will “free up about 350,000 square meters in the city center.” At the same time, however, “we should also discuss releasing some of the buildings and land so that they can become green spaces, that is, increase the proportion of green spaces in the total public space” is another issue. , parallel, goal.

These issues will be raised in the revision of the Athens Regulatory Plan, which is due to be released in the autumn, as well as in the special urban planning plan that will appear in general for the relocation of these ministries. He added that this is a joint project involving the municipalities of Athens, Dafni-Imitto, scientific organizations and others.

The strategic environmental impact assessment is also in the public consultation stage and the government is awaiting comments from the scientific community and civil society. The next step in early 2023 will be a PPP tender aimed at establishing a state park.

Source: RES-IPE