A suspension request, which has not yet been filed by the Municipality of Milos, could have at least temporarily stopped the uncontrolled concreting at Mytakas beach. Instead, the expansion—effectively a sixfold increase—of the five-star White Coast hotel by Prodea Investments continues rapidly.

The area belongs to zones classified as grassland/forest, where building is not allowed on plots that do not face an approved municipal road. The White Coast plot does not have such access. Even if permits exist, they are considered illegal, and environmental impact studies cannot be valid for constructing large facilities in a protected zone.

The expansion takes place within a protected area under Greek law 3937/2011 and a designated wildlife refuge, outside city planning and settlement limits. Negative recommendations exist from both the Regional Directorate of Agriculture and the Municipal Environmental Committee. In January 2024, the Milos municipal council unanimously rejected the Environmental Impact Study for the expansion.

Nearby, at Agios Konstantinos beach, a smaller hotel project was immediately halted, highlighting questions about equal enforcement of regulations.

The Transparency Authority previously intervened in similar cases in Sarakiniko, Milos, showing that building permits in protected zones without road access violate law.

The White Coast expansion now dominates Mytakas beach, and even if construction were legally halted, the environmental damage is largely irreversible. The project plans to increase suites from 30 to 171 and build pools totaling almost 2,000 m² on a plot of 29,421.73 m².

The mayor of Milos emphasizes that responsibility does not fall solely on the municipality, but also on the national authorities, engineers, and ministries that approved the project. Local authorities have limited ability to stop or regulate such strategic investments.

Across the Cyclades, mayors warn that so-called “strategic investments” for tourism have become a vehicle for unchecked luxury real estate, altering the natural, cultural, and social fabric of islands. They call for mandatory municipal participation in approvals, strict environmental oversight, and reconsideration of investment frameworks to protect the islands’ sustainability.

Milos, Santorini, Ios, Sikinos, Folegandros, and other Cyclades islands are living places, not fields for pharaonic business projects.