Private Investment Transforms Athens Riviera as Ellinikon Development Accelerates

Private investment now makes up two-fifths of Greece's biggest construction schemes, with several of the largest sited on Athens' southern waterfront at Ellinikon. The shift gives the capital a cluster of new roads, flood defences and a 51-storey tower that will stand taller than any other building in the country.

The change arrives as European Union recovery funds reach their final spending year and private developers move ahead on schemes that had stayed on paper for more than a decade. Athens residents have watched the old airport site sit largely empty since 2001; the current pace of work means visible changes to traffic patterns and coastal access within the next two years.

Coastal works reach Poseidonos Avenue

Utility networks, new local roads and flood-protection measures are already under way across the Ellinikon site. A 2.5-kilometre stretch of Poseidonos Avenue is being placed underground, a step that will remove a surface barrier between inland neighbourhoods and the beach. AVAX holds the contract for these infrastructure works, budgeted at 250 million euros according to The National Herald.

Further east on the same site, the Riviera Tower is rising under an AKTOR-BOUYGUES joint venture. At 350 million euros, the tower will become Greece's tallest structure once it tops out later this year. Next to it, TERNA is preparing the Ellinikon Mall, scheduled to open in 2028 as the largest shopping centre in the country.

Daily travel and housing effects for Athens

Commuters who use the coastal road between Glyfada and Alimos will notice lane shifts and temporary closures while the undergrounding proceeds. Once complete, the project should cut through-traffic on surface streets and open new pedestrian routes to the sea. The same works include upgraded drainage that local engineers say will reduce winter flooding in low-lying pockets of the southern suburbs.

Housing pressure in central Athens has pushed more residents toward the south-east coast. The Ellinikon projects add thousands of new homes alongside the commercial buildings, yet the first units will not reach the market until 2027. In the meantime, construction traffic and dust remain the main daily impact felt by nearby households.

The National Herald notes that private schemes now sit alongside traditional public works on the national list, signalling that Athens will see a larger share of developer-led building in the years ahead. Residents can track road-closure notices on the Attica regional authority website and contact the Ellinikon project information line for updates on when new beach access points will open.