RUSSIAN CAPITAL 150 MILLION EURO IN KANISTRO, HALKIDIKI
One of the most prominent examples of
obstruction due to bureaucracy in foreign investmentS is the big project of
tourist complex by Med Sea Health and Mare Village SA in the location Kanistro
in Paliouri, Halkidiki.
The good news is that now, after about 7 years
of delay, the state has given the green light to the evolution of the
investment, which has launched in recent months and is expected to be completed
in 2015. The capital for this project comes from Russia and is estimated to
reach 150 million. Although this investment has gone through a lot of
difficulties until it get approval from the government, the investors haven’t
been discouraged, showing patience and support their original plan.
In the evolution of investment a significant
role played Stergios Pitsiorlas, former member of Sinaspismos, who supported
the investors, convincing them basically not to abandon the plan, rather than
the seven years it took to finally get the approval.
Mr. Pitsiorlas previously did not hesitate to
stand on this issue in an opinion that some papers could be issued in 45 days
instead of 3 months or about the allocation of the marina, a process that
preceded the subsequent requirement for submission of environmental report.
The initial interest was expressed by Russian
investors in 2006, according to Mr.Pitsiorlas, and in the meantime there was
concern about whether they should leave it due to economic adversity and
defamation that Greece suffered abroad.
These problems, however, belong to the past, as
the construction of the tourism unit has already begun and is expected to give
a strong impetus to “thermal” tourism in Greece .
The design of the superlux spa and thalassotherapy
center has been made by the Italian specialist, Francesco Bernanti. The plan
includes a high quality tourist 5-star
hotel complex with 640 beds (300 rooms, of which 65 will feature a swimming
pool, as well as 30 suites), hydro-therapeutic spa center, a marina with
capacity 90 yachts and a settlement of 150 holiday homes (which will be
available for sale), in a total area of 330 acres. The hotel is constructed on
a hill on top of which it is the hydro-therapeutic center, which will consist
of 62 luxury rooms with pools and fed with water from the hot springs of the
area.
For the purchase of land the investors spent 15
million euros and the project is implemented by a pair of companies, hotel and
health service company Med Sea Health and hotel and property company Mare
Village SA.