Kammenos stands by military property investments bill

Defense Minister Panos Kammenos claimed on Wednesday that the government has received an offer from an investor to construct a luxury hotel on the island of Fleves in the Saronic Gulf.

The island belongs to the Defense Ministry and Kammenos told a parliamentary committee that the investment could lead to revenues of 100 million euros per year.

He said the money would be used to fund the Hellenic Navy.

The minister appeared before Parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee to defend draft legislation that foresees his department retaining control over any decision concerning property which belongs to the ministry rather than allowing the country’s privatization fund, the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (TAIPED), to deal with potential investments.

Kammenos claimed TAIPED is only interested in selling assets, whereas the Defense Ministry only wants to lease property.

“We are not going to sell even a centimeter,” he told MPs.