Greece is considering leasing out a number of its islands, most likely for tourism purposes, as pressure mounts on the country to reduce its debt. 40 uninhabited islands could be leased out for up to 50 years in order to raise funds from government assets.
The Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund, charged with raising €50bn from state assets by 2020, has announced it has identified 40 potential islands that could be leased out either for private use or the development of tourist resorts.Current legislation prohibits the sale of the islands, but their commercial exploitation could generate much-needed revenue for the debt-ridden country, which is having to implement rigorous austerity measures under terms of its €240bn bailout from Europe.“We identified locations that have good terrain, are close to the mainland and have a well-developed infrastructure and, at the same time, pose no threat to national security,” a spokesman for the fund said. The 40 islands are uninhabited and range from 500,000 to 3 million square metres.
