2013-02-21 21:29:30
Μέσα στις επόμενες δέκα ημέρες θα έχει εγκριθεί το σχέδιο επενδύσεων της El Dorado στη Χαλκιδική, διαβεβαίωσε ο Πρωθυπουργός Αντώνης Σαμαράς μιλώντας στη Wall Street Journal.
Οπως σημειώνει η εφημερίδα, η επένδυση της καναδικής εταιρείας στα τέσσερα ορυχεία χρυσού στη Χαλκιδική θα προστατευθεί από την ελληνική κυβέρνηση «με κάθε κόστος».
«Η Ελλάδα είναι μια σύγχρονη ευρωπαϊκή χώρα και θα προστατέψουμε με κάθε κόστος τις ξένες επενδύσεις. Αυτού του είδους οι ενέργειες δεν μπορούν να γίνουν ανεκτές. Πρόκειται για μια επένδυση η οποία είναι ιδιαίτερα επιθυμητή για εμάς και η διαδικασία της τελικής έγκρισης θα έχει ολοκληρωθεί τις επόμενες 10 ημέρες» τόνισε Πρωθυπουργός.
By ALKMAN GRANITSAS
ATHENS—Greece's government will within days approve a gold mine project in the north of the country, which promises to create jobs and bring much needed investment to the area, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said.
Giving the green light to a planned €230 million ($305 million) investment by Eldorado Gold Corp. ELD.T +1.97% in a Thrace gold mine is aimed at calming the Canadian miner's concerns about a swift, violent attack by masked vandals on one of its other mines over the weekend.
The Thace project, which has been awaiting approval for months, is one of a complex of four gold and other mines that Eldorado has acquired in Greece over the past four years. The company has committed to invest another $1 billion over the next four years.
But one of those mines, located near the town of Skouries, was attacked early Sunday when some 40 masked intruders stormed the facility and set fire to machinery, vehicles and shipping containers that housed the company's offices at the site. Operations at the mine are expected to be disrupted for two weeks as a result of the attack, which caused an estimated €1 million in damages, an Eldorado Gold official said.
The Skouries gold and copper mine, which is on the Halkidiki peninsula in one of northern Greece's most densely forested areas and a major tourist destination, has been at the center of controversy for some two decades. Many local residents oppose the new open-pit mine, saying it will destroy the environment and harm the area's tourism potential.
To reassure company officials who visited Athens this week, the Greek government has promised to address security issues at the mine and, at the same time, cut through the red tape that has stalled approval for Eldorado's planned investment in Thrace.
"This kind of act cannot be tolerated. Greece is a modern European country, and we will at all costs protect foreign investment in the country," Mr. Samaras said. "This is an investment that we very much want, and the whole procedure for the final approval will be finished within the next 10 days."
Greece's economy is now in its sixth year of a crushing recession that has caused unemployment to soar to a staggering 27%, the highest jobless rate in Europe. The conservative-led coalition government is desperate to attract foreign investment in the hopes of kick-starting the economy, even as it implements further austerity measures demanded by its euro-zone partners and the International Monetary Fund in order to keep it in the euro zone.
Combined, Eldorado's four projects will provide some 2,000 jobs. The company aims to turn Greece into the largest gold producer in Europe. When all the mines are in full operation, the company estimates they will boost Greece's exports by €1 billion a year.
Despite that, the Skouries mine has faced opposition for years, including past protests at the site. But the attack early Sunday represented an escalation in that opposition and was marked by a ruthlessness and efficiency that has surprised many Greeks.
Closed-circuit television images of the predawn attack and testimony from two security guards present indicated the raid was highly organized. The intruders wore matching masks and military fatigues that hid their identities, approached and left the site undetected, and completed the raid in a matter of minutes.
The sophistication of the attack has even stoked fears that it may have been organized by one of Greece's left-wing urban guerrilla groups and comes amid a spate of recent, small-scale gun and bombing attacks in Athens and other cities.
Police have detained more than two dozen people for questioning over the attack at the mine. One person has been charged with abetting the crime, and has been released pending trial.
"The nature of that attack was significant; it was basically an act of terror, and we don't engage in countries where there is terrorism," said Eldorado Chief Executive Paul Wright. "We came to satisfy ourselves that the situation would be dealt with in a satisfactory manner, and we have now received those assurances."
—Nektaria Stamouli in Athens contributed to this article.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323549204578317991953925204.html
Οπως σημειώνει η εφημερίδα, η επένδυση της καναδικής εταιρείας στα τέσσερα ορυχεία χρυσού στη Χαλκιδική θα προστατευθεί από την ελληνική κυβέρνηση «με κάθε κόστος».
«Η Ελλάδα είναι μια σύγχρονη ευρωπαϊκή χώρα και θα προστατέψουμε με κάθε κόστος τις ξένες επενδύσεις. Αυτού του είδους οι ενέργειες δεν μπορούν να γίνουν ανεκτές. Πρόκειται για μια επένδυση η οποία είναι ιδιαίτερα επιθυμητή για εμάς και η διαδικασία της τελικής έγκρισης θα έχει ολοκληρωθεί τις επόμενες 10 ημέρες» τόνισε Πρωθυπουργός.
By ALKMAN GRANITSAS
ATHENS—Greece's government will within days approve a gold mine project in the north of the country, which promises to create jobs and bring much needed investment to the area, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said.
Giving the green light to a planned €230 million ($305 million) investment by Eldorado Gold Corp. ELD.T +1.97% in a Thrace gold mine is aimed at calming the Canadian miner's concerns about a swift, violent attack by masked vandals on one of its other mines over the weekend.
The Thace project, which has been awaiting approval for months, is one of a complex of four gold and other mines that Eldorado has acquired in Greece over the past four years. The company has committed to invest another $1 billion over the next four years.
But one of those mines, located near the town of Skouries, was attacked early Sunday when some 40 masked intruders stormed the facility and set fire to machinery, vehicles and shipping containers that housed the company's offices at the site. Operations at the mine are expected to be disrupted for two weeks as a result of the attack, which caused an estimated €1 million in damages, an Eldorado Gold official said.
The Skouries gold and copper mine, which is on the Halkidiki peninsula in one of northern Greece's most densely forested areas and a major tourist destination, has been at the center of controversy for some two decades. Many local residents oppose the new open-pit mine, saying it will destroy the environment and harm the area's tourism potential.
To reassure company officials who visited Athens this week, the Greek government has promised to address security issues at the mine and, at the same time, cut through the red tape that has stalled approval for Eldorado's planned investment in Thrace.
"This kind of act cannot be tolerated. Greece is a modern European country, and we will at all costs protect foreign investment in the country," Mr. Samaras said. "This is an investment that we very much want, and the whole procedure for the final approval will be finished within the next 10 days."
Greece's economy is now in its sixth year of a crushing recession that has caused unemployment to soar to a staggering 27%, the highest jobless rate in Europe. The conservative-led coalition government is desperate to attract foreign investment in the hopes of kick-starting the economy, even as it implements further austerity measures demanded by its euro-zone partners and the International Monetary Fund in order to keep it in the euro zone.
Combined, Eldorado's four projects will provide some 2,000 jobs. The company aims to turn Greece into the largest gold producer in Europe. When all the mines are in full operation, the company estimates they will boost Greece's exports by €1 billion a year.
Despite that, the Skouries mine has faced opposition for years, including past protests at the site. But the attack early Sunday represented an escalation in that opposition and was marked by a ruthlessness and efficiency that has surprised many Greeks.
Closed-circuit television images of the predawn attack and testimony from two security guards present indicated the raid was highly organized. The intruders wore matching masks and military fatigues that hid their identities, approached and left the site undetected, and completed the raid in a matter of minutes.
The sophistication of the attack has even stoked fears that it may have been organized by one of Greece's left-wing urban guerrilla groups and comes amid a spate of recent, small-scale gun and bombing attacks in Athens and other cities.
Police have detained more than two dozen people for questioning over the attack at the mine. One person has been charged with abetting the crime, and has been released pending trial.
"The nature of that attack was significant; it was basically an act of terror, and we don't engage in countries where there is terrorism," said Eldorado Chief Executive Paul Wright. "We came to satisfy ourselves that the situation would be dealt with in a satisfactory manner, and we have now received those assurances."
—Nektaria Stamouli in Athens contributed to this article.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323549204578317991953925204.html
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