Italy looking to sell property

Italy wants to sell billions of euros worth of unused property to help pay off its massive debt.

No, the Colosseum is not for sale. Nor are there any plans to auction off riverside estates in Florence.

But hundreds of sites around the country could soon hit the market, including military bases, an old mine and a block of old buildings in Milan, The New York Times reports. The government hopes to raise 25 billion to 30 billion euros (Dh121.5bn to Dh243bn) from the sales.

Greece has also discussed selling property to pay off debt, prompting endless headlines proclaiming the "Big Fat Greek Property Sale."

But turning property into cash is a notoriously slow and frustrating process, unless the government is willing to sell at bargain prices. The dream of developers paying huge sums to create shiny new office, residential and retail palaces rarely works in a depressed market.

And the properties up for sale are rarely enticing to developers. The reporter from The Times visited a former air force depot up for sale and left unimpressed:

"The grounds are strewn with long strips of blue tubing, left by thieves after they stripped the copper wiring out for salvage. The buildings are gutted, the only sign of their former use is the long rows of shelving and pieces of paper taped to the walls identifying what had been stored: summer pants, shampoo, toothpaste, tissues."

Most of the properties are expected to hit the market in the first half of next year, The Times reports.