Creation of the Hyperfund
The first bailout which Greece received following its debt crisis in April 2010 was signed in May of the same year between the Greek government and the European Commission (on behalf of the Eurogroup of EU Finance Ministers), the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Officially a Memorandum of Understanding, it became known colloquially (like the subsequent second and third bailouts) as the Memorandum, and the lenders as the Troika – which became terms of opprobrium among the general public and the media, who objected to Greece’s submission to foreign control of its finances.

Among the conditions of the bailout was the creation of a sovereign wealth fund which would take over Greece’s many underused or (in the lenders’ view) poorly managed public assets, with a view to their eventual privatisation. This included assets in property, energy and utilities (including the Public Power Corporation/DEI), transport and infrastructure (including Athens International Airport and the Piraeus Port Authority), food, technology, the Hellenic Post and the National Bank of Greece.

Popularly known as the Ypertameio or Hyperfund, and officially as the Growthfund, the organisation was created as the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF) in 2011, and subsequently absorbed by the Hellenic Corporation of Assets and Participations S.A. (HCAP), a holding company founded in 2016 with the Greek government as its sole shareholder, represented by the Minister of Economy and Finance.

The Hellenic Public Properties Company
As a subsidiary of the Growthfund, the Hellenic Public Properties Company (HPPC) was created to exploit the value of a wide portfolio of government-owned properties through leasing, concessions, sales and attracting private investment. Among the properties it controls is a building next the Agora in Chania, popularly known as the Fridge, as it was originally created as an ice store serving the public and businesses in the city.

Following the renovation of the Agora, which is due to be completed in December of this year, the Fridge, which occupies the corner of the Agora site between the eastern and northern wings, remains the one undeveloped part of the site. Consequently it was decided to offer the Fridge for development and in May of this year the HPPC issued a press release announcing a tender for its lease, with a deadline of 3rd July 2026.

As with some other public assets in Chania (such as the buildings on Kastelli Hill and Daskalogiannis Airport), the prospect of privatisation provoked a flurry of objections, with local calls for the Fridge to be taken over by the Municipality and used for public service, the foremost proposition being for it to house the Historical Archive of Crete. In this case the Municipality of Chania has indeed shown some interest, which has been intensified with failure of the initial tender to attract any offers, with the result that the tender deadline has been extended to 15th October.

Involvement of the Chania Municipal Council
The issue has been the subject of discussion at recent meetings of the Chania Municipal Council, as reported by the Haniotika Nea. On 1st October it reported:

The issue of the Municipality of Chania laying claim to the old Fridge building east of the Municipal Agora has once again been raised in the Municipal Council, with councillors asking to be informed of the progress of its claim and whether there has been an answer to the letter which the Municipality sent to the HPPC.

In reply, the mayor’s associate Mr Damianakis reported that the original tender had expired on 3rd July 2026, without receiving any offers, and as a result had been extended until 15th October. He noted that there had been a previous discussion on 26th June without any decision being taken, while a few days previously the Local Community had taken a unanimous decision in favour of laying claim to the building.

He further said that the Municipality had sent a letter to the President and Managing Director of the HPPC asking for a meeting on the subject without having so far received any reply. He said that communication with the HPPC is extremely difficult, and also referred to the financial terms of the tender, which were considered unapproachable for the Municipality. The building’s target rental was reported to be €12,500 a month, with a deposit of €80,000 and rent revisions in line with the Consumer Price Index, for a 30-year lease.

In the ensuing discussion it was stated that before any approach was made, the type of use of the building needed to be clarified, and a financial-technical study undertaken. The Mayor of Chania Panagiotis Simandirakis stated that they would shortly be pressing for a meeting with the HPPC management, and invited comments from local MPs. He emphasised that a decisive factor would be the political stance of the government on the exploitation of the HPPC’s properties.

The consensus of the meeting was that the most realistic approach for the Municipality was direct negotiation with the HPPC, rather than participation in the existing tender under its stated terms.
(Haniotika Nea, 01/10/26)

The Haniotika Nea subsequently reported that the Mayor had visited the leadership of the HPPC in Athens on 6th October, accompanied by the Council’s legal adviser Eftychis Damianakis and the leader of the Municipal Community of Chania Anna Haritaki, although there was no further report on the outcome of the meeting.

Work preparing the Fridge for rental

Currently, work is in progress on the Fridge building to remove more recent accretions, before the HPPC offers it for rental. According to information received by the Haniotika Nea, a contractor is removing materials which had blocked up windows and doors, as well as replacing plaster and other materials which were not in good condition.

Update: Tender deadline extended
On 15th October, the Haniotika Nea reported that the deadline for the tender has been extended to 28th January 2027. Although more than 15 offers have been received, including for touristic development and the creation of a large electrical goods store, the HPPC has extended the tender period to allow for discussions at a political level of the possible assignment of the property to the Municipality of Chania.