Elliniko-Argyroupoli

Lamda Development spoke on Wednesday of an unexpected reversal of the agreement with the government regarding the development of the old Athens airport at Elliniko, against the spirit of talks in the last 10 days.

If the Greek civil administration had always operated at the pace it has been over the last couple of weeks, Greece would rival Denmark in state efficiency.

The government has suddenly sprung into action, rushing to close the Afandou sale, clear the way for the Elliniko development and sell 30 percent of Athens International Airport.

The state has had all the studies and documents required for the issue of the ministerial decision required for the Elliniko development project to proceed since mid-February, Odysseas Athanasiou, chief executive at Lamda Development, said on Tuesday at the listed company's general meeting.

The government to take office after the July 7 general election will have to tackle the Elliniko casino permit issue. Just 13 days before the deadline for binding offers, all signs point to a fresh extension until after the polls.

Greece has given potential suitors one more month to bid for a license to build and operate a casino resort on the Athens Riviera, the country's gaming commission said on Monday.

ADD, Greece's biggest electronic music festival, returns to Athens for its second edition on Saturday and Sunday, May 25 and 26, and this year's events will be taking place on the site of the old airport at Elliniko on the capital's southern coast.

Three out of the four parties that had expressed an initial interest in the casino permit at the old Athens airport plot in Elliniko on Athens' southern coast are still in play today.

There was little chance of the government changing the economic policy mix it has relied on for the past four years in the runup to elections. Instead, it remains capable only of running up excessive primary surpluses through overtaxation while failing completely to revive the real economy.

The union representing Attica taxi drivers, SATA, has proposed that a cabbie be deprived of his license after forcing an injured woman out of his car on Thursday because he feared getting his vehicle dirty.

Describing the driver's behavior as "not only unprofessional but inhuman," SATA called on the Transport Ministry to withdraw his license and ban him from driving a taxi.