ATHENS — Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced on Saturday the renovation of the old PYRKAL factory in the area of Ymittos with its transformation into a park with the proposed name "Andreas Lentakis", which will be a "lung" of green for the wider area and will host the services of nine ministries and other organizations.

Mitsotakis made the announcement during his visit to the historic industrial unit.

The intervention, according to the government's plan, will free public areas for the citizens, creating a park, something that has been a request of the residents for decades. At the same time, more than 1 billion euros will be saved in the long-term, based on the rents paid by the state.

PM Mitsotakis visits old PYRKAL facilities. (Photo by Eurokinissi/ Tatiana Bollari)

"The plan prepared by the government envisages the creation of a new green lung in the centre of the city," the prime minister said from the facilities of the old PYRKAL facilities, which now belong to the Hellenic Defense Systems. The project is expected to be delivered in about five years and the relocation of public services is expected to take place in the period 2025-2026. The investment is estimated to amount to 250 million euros.

"It is a great day for the municipality of Ymittos – Dafni as we are announcing the launch of an extremely ambitious urban regeneration project," Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said.

The old PYRKAL facilities. (Photo by Eurokinissi/ Tatiana Bollari)

"It is an area in the centre of the municipality, which employs a little more than 300 people. An industrial production that has no reason to be within urban fabric. At the same time, a public administration that still occupies dozens of rented buildings to serve its needs in the centre of Athens," he noted and added: "So the logic of creating this new government park offers a unique opportunity, a significant urban regeneration which on the one hand it will substantially change the face of the city and on the other hand it will offer important opportunities for the public administration to function better, in new buildings that are environmentally friendly and of course much more friendly to the employees."