Agreement signed between state, privatization agency to build new main prison and replace Korydallos

Greece’s relevant public order ministry and the country’s privatization agency – the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF) – on Tuesday signed a long-awaited agreement to build a new multi-wing penitentiary complex in western Attica as a replacement for the current Korydallos prison in the greater Athens-Piraeus agglomeration.

The agreement was signed by Deputy Citizens’ Protection Minister Lefteris Economou and HRADF Executive Director Panagiotis Stampoulidis.

The project to build a new main penitentiary for the country’s correctional network will be financed via a private-public partnership (PPP).

The private entity will be selected through an international tender, while HRADF will be responsible for overseeing execution of a future agreement between the ministry and the highest concession bidder.

The initial budgeting for the new correctional facility was given at 130 million euros, sans VAT. The figure covers only construction, and does not include equipment, operating costs and maintenance.

The tract of land for the new complex measures roughly 10 hectares and is located within the municipality of Aspropyrgos, one of the most industrialized districts in the country, and on the site of a one-time NATO base.

The Piraeus-area working class municipality of Korydallos – southwest of central Athens – has hosted Greece’s biggest prison for decades. Local residents and office-holders have long demanded that the prison be transferred from their congested municipality in order to make room for green space and other community facilities.