Greece Builds Its Own Dubai on the Athenian Riviera

Ellinikon: The Green Luxury Greek City

The Ellinikon Megaplan, also known as the Hellinikon Metropolitan Park project, is Europe’s largest urban regeneration initiative currently underway in Athens, Greece.

Developed by LAMDA Development on the 6.2 million square meter site of the former Ellinikon International Airport (closed in 2001), it transforms an abandoned urban area into a sustainable, smart “15-minute city” along the Athenian Riviera.

With a total investment exceeding €8 billion, the project integrates residential neighborhoods, commercial hubs, luxury hotels, a casino, offices, cultural venues, and extensive leisure facilities, all centered around a massive coastal park.

Vision and Masterplan

Designed with input from renowned firms like Foster + Partners and Sasaki, the Ellinikon masterplan emphasizes sustainability, resilience, and integrated living.

It features diverse neighborhoods combining homes, shopping, work, entertainment, and green spaces, while doubling Athens’ metropolitan green area through innovative landscape design. Key elements include smart infrastructure, low-carbon construction, and climate-responsive strategies to create a modern Mediterranean coastal destination that alleviates pressure on historic Athens.

Key Features and Attractions

At its core lies the 600-acre (2 million sq m) Ellinikon Metropolitan Park, set to become Europe’s largest coastal park, with over 30,000 trees, 50 km of pedestrian and cycling paths, a 1 km free-access beach, and carbon neutrality targeted within 35 years.

The development includes Greece’s tallest buildings (such as the 200m Riviera Tower), major retail districts, high-end residences, an integrated resort with a Hard Rock casino (slated for 2026 opening), and enhanced public amenities like promenades and event spaces. Connectivity is boosted via metro, tram, and new infrastructure, positioning Ellinikon as a year-round hub for residents, tourists, and businesses.

As of 2026, construction progresses rapidly across dozens of sites with thousands of workers, including visible advancements on the park, commercial mall, Riviera Tower, and residential phases.
Phase 1 developments, encompassing essential infrastructure, the park’s core, and initial residential/commercial elements, are on track for completion around 2027-2028. The project is expected to contribute significantly to Greece’s economy by generating tens of thousands of jobs, boosting GDP, increasing tourism, and establishing Athens as a global model for green urban transformation.

Greece vs Dubai

The Ellinikon project in Athens is ambitiously positioned as a direct competitor to Dubai’s iconic high-end developments, aiming to attract luxury investment, tourism, and affluent residents with features like towering skyscrapers, upscale residences, a mega-casino, marinas for superyachts, and premium retail and hospitality offerings along the Athenian Riviera.

However, unlike Dubai’s signature desert landscape dominated by artificial islands, man-made attractions, and arid expanses, Ellinikon differentiates itself by prioritizing sustainability and abundant greenery, centering the development around Europe’s largest coastal park spanning 2 million square meters (about 600 acres), with over 31,000 trees, millions of native plants, extensive walkways, and a 1 km public beach.
This green-focused approach seeks to create a more livable, climate-resilient “15-minute city” that doubles Athens’ metropolitan green space, emphasizes Mediterranean-native ecology, carbon neutrality goals, and seamless integration of nature with modern luxury, positioning it as a smarter, greener alternative to Dubai’s spectacle-driven model.

Ultimately, while Ellinikon borrows Dubai’s blueprint for high-profile, wealth-attracting urban transformation, its emphasis on vast public green areas over desert-style opulence aims to redefine Mediterranean luxury as environmentally harmonious and accessible rather than purely extravagant.