Greece postpones casino bid deadline by a month
Casino licence is key in €8 billion redevelopment project
The Greek government has extended the deadline for the presentation of bids for a casino in the old airport of Hellenikon up to June 28. No reason was given for the delay. Greece’s Gaming Commission said on Monday that potential suitors now have another month to bid for a licence to build and operate a casino resort on the Athens Riviera.
The commission had set a May 31 deadline for the submission of offers to build and operate a casino along with a luxury hotel, conference and recreation facilities on the site of the disused airport in Hellenikon.The casino licence is key to the start of an €8 billion project by Lamda Development, backed by China’s Fosun and Arab funds, to turn 620 hectares of wasteland at the former Hellenikon airport into a complex of luxury homes, hotels and a yachting marina.
Beset by serious delays, Hellenikon is part of a post-bailout agreement between Athens and its international creditors and is expected to boost state coffers by hundreds of millions of euros and create thousands of jobs in the coming years.
