All properties of state under one authority

The government is beginning to seek out state properties that have not been put under the jurisdiction of the new privatizations hyperfund.

Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos has signed off another bailout review milestone, which concerns the creation of a task force to identify state-owned properties that are not on the public property register (MAP) held by the Independent Authority for Public Revenue, as well as some of those inside MAP that fulfill the criteria for utilization.

The country’s creditors appear determined to compel Athens to form a central plan for the development of state-owned real estate. They also want to ensure that the hyperfund has full control over state properties and that there will be no rival developing authorities within the state mechanism, such as that being considered by the Defense Ministry.

Finance Ministry officials admit that the value of properties outside the hyperfund’s purview is small, with the vast majority – over 100,000 properties – already under the authority of ETAD, a hyperfund subsidiary. The creditors, however, insist on absolute control by a single authority, which reflects their lack of trust in Athens.