Lamda Development’s $8 billion Ellinikon, now under construction about 20 minutes from the Acropolis in Athens, is the largest urban reclamation project in Europe. The project, being built from scratch on Mediterranean coastline that used to be an international airport and 2004 Olympics site, will feature a 1-km-long public beach and one of the largest coastal parks in the world, nearly doubling the amount of green space per Athens resident. It will have thousands of luxury apartments, shopping, hotels, offices, entertainment, a university, and new infrastructure including electric vehicle stations and rainwater capture. Lamda is privately financing the development, which is expected to create thousands of jobs, attract tourists, and contribute 2.4% of Greece’s GDP in an economy that Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis this year told TIME he’s focused on boosting. “It’s a project that is putting Greece on the map for the right reason,” says CEO Odisseas Athanasiou.
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