[MGSA-L] Scheme to heal ‘wounded’ Athens
June Samaras
june.samaras at gmail.com
Mon Apr 9 20:11:08 PDT 2012
Tuesday April 10, 2012
Scheme to heal ‘wounded’ Athens
Athens Mayor Giorgos Kaminis signed an agreement with the government
on Monday that is set to lead to more than 1.5 billion euros being
invested in the regeneration of central Athens in a plan that could
lead to downtown stores opening on Sundays.
Kaminis agreed the scheme, to be called “Athina Xana” (Athens Again),
with Development Minister Anna Diamantopoulou and Labor Minister
Giorgos Koutroumanis. It will see an initial amount of 120 million
euros from the European Union structural funds allocated to Greece
being spent on the project while another 1.5 billion, also cash from
Brussels, is due to be invested between 2014 and 2020.
“There have to be many parallel interventions, which have to do with
security, restoring the city to its normal operation and giving
emphasis to growth,” Diamantopoulou said as she presented the scheme.
“We have to show the city’s beautiful side as well because it
continues to be a great city, even though it is a wounded goddess,”
added the minister.
Projects for the first phase of the scheme are due to be tendered over
the next six to nine months with the aim of being completed by the end
of 2015.
The projects will have several broad themes. The first will be to
boost entrepreneurial activity. This will involve three abandoned
hotels, the Megas Alexandros, Bageion and Olympia, around Omonia
Square being refurbished and rented to innovative start-ups.
Another theme is improving the quality of life of city center
residents. To achieve this, authorities plan to build more nursery
schools, health centers, homeless shelters and centers for disabled
children. These services will be installed in buildings owned by
social security funds. More cycle lanes were also pledged. In
addition, there will be attempts to improve infrastructure, such as 11
squares and numerous sidewalks.
It has also been proposed that stores in the municipality of Athens,
which covers the wider downtown area, be allowed to open on Sundays.
This move appears to have the backing of the Athens Traders
Association but is opposed by the National Confederation of Greek
Commerce (ESEE).
“Any exception to the rule [on Sunday openings] is unconstitutional
and leads to unfair competition,” ESEE president Vassilis Korkidis
told Kathimerini.
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June Samaras
2020 Old Station Rd
Streetsville,Ontario
Canada L5M 2V1
Tel : 905-542-1877
E-mail : june.samaras at gmail.com
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