PETROTHALASSA, ERMIONI – ESCHASE

The Site: The Petrothalassa peninsula on the Argolic Gulf — a 234-acre coastal property in the Municipality of Ermionida, Peloponnese — had been dormant since 2020, when the Ermioni Club, a 450-key tourist complex built in 1969–71, was demolished ahead of a new planning process. The site’s exceptional coastal topography and proximity to Porto Heli made it a candidate for a strategically significant tourism investment of a fundamentally different scale and quality.

The Brief: Scarlet Beach S.A. engaged Decathlon S.A. to develop and coordinate the full Master /Zoning Plan of a “Strategic Investment Project” (ΕΣΧΑΣΕ) under Laws 4864/2021 and 3986/2011 — the planning framework enabling large-scale mixed-use tourism development on strategic coastal sites in Greece. The objective: establish the regulatory foundation for a 5-star mixed tourism complex with 388 beds and a dedicated tourist marina facility (ΤΛΕ).

The Planning Work: Decathlon S.A. coordinated a multi-disciplinary team across a three-phase approval process spanning November 2021 to the present. Phase A secured the property’s classification as a Strategic Investment (Gov. Gaz. 3201/Β/2023). Phase B delivered the ΕΣΧΑΣΕ study and Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment, culminating in a Presidential Decree (Gov. Gaz. 521/Δ/2025). Phase C — currently underway — covers the investment siting plan and environmental permitting through a Joint Ministerial Decision (ΚΥΑ). Seven planning principles governed the spatial organisation: rational zoning, compatibility with natural geomorphology and landscape, high-level sustainable tourism services, complementarity of uses, compliance with upper-tier planning frameworks, observance of all required setbacks, and respect for the carrying capacity of the coastal environment.

The Outcome: The approved Presidential Decree establishes the planning framework for a €202.99M investment — a low-density, landscape-integrated resort complex with building volumes rising to one or two storeys in response to topography, enabling one of the most significant new luxury tourism developments in the Argolic Gulf region.

Info

• LOCATION : Petrothalassa, Ermioni, Municipality of Ermionida, Peloponnese
• CLIENT : Scarlet Beach S.A.
• AREA : 223,417 sq.m., excluding beach zone and watercourse area
• PERIOD : November 2021 – Ongoing
• PLAN TYPE : ESCHASE (Special Spatial Development Plan for Strategic Investment)
• INVESTMENT VALUE : €202,990,000
• DECATHLON S.A.'s ROLE : Study Coordinator / ESCHASE & Investment Siting Study
• COLLABORATORS : Planet S.A. (Contract Contractor, Phase B) · Envista E.E. (SEIA) · Hydroment (EIA & Topographic Survey) · NAMA (Traffic Studies) · Tsolakis+Partners (Architectural Study) · JEPA (Technical Infrastructure) · Rogan Associates (Marina Works) · Conside (Hydraulic Study) · Serafeim Scovolas, MSc (Geological Study)
• STATUS : In Progress — Phase C, pending ΚΥΑ approval