Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who attended the inauguration of the Piraeus Tower, spoke of an emblematic project, a symbol of a city in change, but also a symbol of a country moving confidently into the future.
As he said, “the completion of an iconic project that was designed by some more than 50 years ago, is another very important moment for the country’s first port”.
“This project became a reality thanks to the visionary attitude of the municipality and those who developed it and assumed the business risk at a time when the country was emerging from a major crisis”, he highlighted.
Then, the Prime Minister referred to the very good cooperation that the municipality of Piraeus has with the government which, as he said, in its own way supported important development projects, the most important of all being the Metro project.
New project routing
“And, at the same time, it is launching a series of new projects, such as the Museum of Maritime Antiquities, new renovations that will further enhance the beauty of the first port, its transformation into a port that will be environmentally friendly, this we call “cold pass”, the electrification of the port, and that Piraeus is at the forefront of this new major environmental challenge”, he stated.
“These projects are co-financed by European resources, specifically by the Recovery Fund, which has added significant financial capacity to the country to support such visionary projects”, stated the Prime Minister, noting that the government sees the plan to underground the network electricity in a very positive way. .
“I firmly believe that corporate risk-taking to launch such large development projects is obviously also linked to the faith that investors have in the country’s prospects. Which in turn are linked to the cost of financing, the possibility of financing such complex projects”, he further emphasized.
“All these then came and met. Great difficulties were overcome, the pandemic, a war in Ukraine. And today we are in the happy position of inaugurating a building that in its own way will become one, and not the only one, one of the many landmarks of a city that is changing and moving confidently into the future”, noted Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
“The government views Elektrikos’ undergrounding plan very positively”
Addressing the city president, the prime minister said: “And I will respond to the challenge you threw at me, dear president of the Chamber. The government views Elektrikos’ undergrounding plan very positively. We await the final study, consultation with the Ministry of Culture, and the determination of financial resources.
“However, I understand the great importance that this project has for the essentially qualitative regeneration of an area of Piraeus that needs more interventions”, he continued.
“Therefore, I am happy that Piraeus is moving from being a city identified with maritime activity to becoming a destination city, an independent destination. And in a city that can attract commercial activities other than maritime transport, with which, Madam President, Piraeus will always be identified.
We want to unlock this dynamic in Piraeus and that is why we will always be useful in such large and important development projects.
Finally, as we also present a tower here and talk about the possibility of cities growing taller, this project was designed together with the Athens Tower more than 50 years ago.
“We must overcome the ‘height phobia of urban planning'”
The needs of cities are changing and the requirements to free up space for more greenery are becoming increasingly intense. And I think that, in general, we must overcome a relative ‘urban planning hyperphobia’ that we have in the way we design the cities of the future”
This does not mean that tall buildings will appear everywhere. I think it’s a pretty obvious thing, and this government has proven that when they have to impose restrictions on building heights that are consistent with the general residential footprint, I would say, of certain areas, they are willing to do that.
However, other tall buildings are being built and will be built in our country and I think that dealing with the growth of cities by taking advantage of the potential that height gives us, as imagined by some older than us, is definitely something that should now be considered with more courage.”