This year the Tower of Piraeus wore its festive colors as it was lit up in a special event held earlier on the 3rd floor of the city’s iconic building. The Tower is illuminated for the fourth consecutive year as part of the Christmas events of the municipality of Piraeus.

The illuminated Tower of Piraeus will shine every night until January 6, 2024.

Shortly before the illumination, which was captured in a video from www.pireaspiraeus.com, there was a guided tour for journalists, but also for municipal councilors and city bodies.

The mayor of Piraeus, Yiannis Moralis, in his greeting said that this year’s illumination differs from the previous ones, as it was done from the port since the Tower was being reconstructed. “Now the Tower is almost ready. We are on the balcony of the Tower, on the balcony I would say of Piraeus, to see the unique illumination”.

Mr. Moralis spoke about the reconstruction of the Tower and how important a project it is for all Piraeus: “We are all impressed with the speed with which this building was built and with the quality of its construction. It is also a proof that, when there is an organized plan and good collaborations, even the impossible becomes possible. Because this building seemed impossible to operate for the city of Piraeus. It was a wait of many years, about 45, and the anxiety of the Piraeus is very great, because they want it to end, to enter and see it. To go up to the floors, to go to the shops, to come here where we are.”

As the mayor of Piraeus noted, “Pyrgos will house important businesses that will give a surplus value to our city and a development dynamic, not only in our city but also in the wider region. After all, it is the second tallest building in Greece after the Tower of Athens and it is the first building that people see, whether they are leaving or coming to our country from the country’s central port. At the same time, it is an environmentally modern building, a building that also generates income for the Piraeus municipality of approximately 1.2 million a year, a very important boost for our municipality – and these will of course be directed to regeneration projects as well as environmental protection. Piraeus is slowly closing pending issues, that’s why every year I appear optimistic about the course of our city”.

In her speech, the CEO of Dimand, Olga Itsiou, spoke about the challenges and collaborations that existed to complete the project: “The municipality played a very important role, because maybe we, the investors, the construction company, the auditors succeeded to implement this, but if the municipality had not taken the decision to put out the tender after 44 years to use this property, we would not be here today. So it is very important that this authority made this decision. Obviously it will have a very significant annual rent, council tax, but it will also be an attraction, not only for workers, who currently don’t work here, about 2,000 to 2,500 people will work, but also for people visiting the commercial uses that will be located in the building and the large FNB space, which will be on the third level. The official opening will take place on March 1, 2024.” It is typical that the lighting of the tower will have such a low consumption when it is dimmed, that it will have the consumption of a domestic air conditioner, Ms. Itsiou concluded.

For his part, Thanasis Karagiannis, Prodea’s Portfolio Manager, spoke, among other things, about the semiotics of the Tower, about the citizens of the city and by extension, about everyone who passes through the city: “We are participating in the first green tower in Greece, which is also one of the first in Europe, this is a vision that was started by the companies, but was also adopted by the mayor Mr. Moralis, since it is a project for the people of Piraeus above all and first of all, but also ‘ expansion for the whole world, since as the mayor said, millions of people pass through this port. We consider it very important that it was done with the cooperation of Greeks. It was done by Greek researchers, by Greek construction companies, it showed how many things we can achieve. For us it is a symbolism. It is a tower that started in another era, from another generation, in another Greece. So it has the symbolism of both continuity and improvement. It is a work done with quality and taste, without exaggeration”