Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met with Thessaloniki Mayor Stelios Angeloudis at the Maximos Mansion on the morning of Wednesday, August 5, in the presence of Interior Minister Thodoris Livanios and the Director of the Prime Minister’s Office for Macedonia, Michalis Bekiris. The central topic of the meeting was the redevelopment of the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) grounds, with the Prime Minister outlining plans to create a brand new fairground facility by 2030.
As Kyriakos Mitsotakis stated, the goal is for the city to gain “a brand new TIF,” while the existing facility continues to operate during the transitional period, along with a significant green space in the heart of Thessaloniki — in line with the original design vision for the area’s urban regeneration.
At the opening of the meeting, Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Stelios Angeloudis exchanged the following remarks:
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: “Welcome, Mayor — it’s great to see you. You’re visiting us in Athens just before we head up to Thessaloniki, after our short August break.
First, I want to say that the timing is very significant, as we have now made major progress on the redevelopment of the Thessaloniki International Fair. I also want to thank you for the excellent cooperation we’ve had, because I believe a tender has now been launched that fully meets the city’s needs while also taking into account the substantive concerns raised by the Municipal Authority.
I think we are genuinely in the fortunate position of being able to say with great confidence that by 2030 we will have a brand new TIF — while of course keeping the existing TIF operational — along with a very large green space in the city center, exactly as we had envisioned.”
Stelios Angeloudis: “Prime Minister, thank you very much for the warm welcome and for our ongoing cooperation.
For us, the 120-acre metropolitan park was the key priority, and it has been achieved through this planning process. So the real challenge now is how quickly we can bring it to life, because it is vital for the city to witness the largest urban regeneration project in its center — one that delivers the green footprint it so urgently needs.
And I believe we all need to work together on this — I mean the relevant bodies alongside the Municipality — in order to implement it in the shortest possible timeframe.”
