The head of Greece’s privatisations agency (HRADF) said on July 6 that it will make up for a revenue shortfall last year by raising a total €6bn by 2018. privatisations.

In 2016, for instance, Greece raised €500m from asset sales. Its target was €2bn.

As reported by the Reuters news agency, privatisations have been a major part of Greece’s three international bailouts since 2010, but political resistance and red tape have hurt revenues.

Last year’s shortfall was mainly due to delays in completing the lease of 14 airports to a consortium led by Germany’s Fraport. But this year could end on a different note.

The €1.2bn lease of regional airports was completed this year. Along with the sale of a 67% stake in Thessaloniki Port and a first €345m tranche from the lease of the former Athens airport Hellenikon, the lease will help Athens raise €2bn in total this year, HRADF’s chairwoman Lila Tsitsogiannopoulou said.

“Our aim is to have the financial closing of the transaction [for Hellenikon] in December 2017,” she told reporters.

For next year, the agency aims to collect €3.5bn, mainly from the sale of a 30% stake in the Athens International Airport (AIA), a 5% stake in its biggest telecoms operator OTE and stakes in several energy and water utilities, Tsitogiannopoulou added.

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