Greek government enlists the real estate assets of Greek Army in
order to raise revenues through their development.Defence Minister Evangelos Venizelos said on Sunday that a international consultant will be soon appointed for the development of Greek army’s real estate assets, which cover an area of 254 thousand acres, however the total value is not yet estimated.
Last week the army camp Pavlos Melas was granted to the newly established municipality of Pavlos Melas in Thessaloniki for its transformation into a metropolitan park, but the issue of development of military property is a thorny problem.
Problems regarding the assertion of rights, violations, troubled ownership are the main problems.
It should be noted that Haidari camp remains undeveloped for four years, due to conflicting interests.
In this context, the ministry plans for the registration and evaluation of the real estate portfolio of Defence Ministry and Armed Forces, with the help of a consultant.
Evangelos Venizelos noted that the army camps are divided into three broad categories: those which are active, those located in urban areas and are claimed by municipalities for social or commercial uses and whose which are expected to be developed by the State.
The “military” portfolio is growing as many training centres will be closed, such as Kalamata, Messolongi, Ioannina, Xanthi, Orestiko. The closures are estimated to provide a saving of €25m annually.
A similar plan was launched in 2006, but the law bill was not implemented.
Army camp Plessas in Mesogion Avenue and the camp Velisario in Ioannina are among the areas. According to Ministry of Defence the following properties are included in its portfolio:
In Attica, the real estate assets managed by the Army amount to 80, with the four of them unoccupied as: camp Rokka in Mandra, camp Fanariotou in Nea Peramos, camp Varsopoulou in Marathonas and former camp Liosi in Ano Liosia.
Navy General Staff owns real estate assets including multi-storey buildings in central Athens and a house in Ekali.
National Fleet Fund owns several buildings in Athens and Piraeus, which could help raise €100,000 annually, according to the ministry.
