Greece asks two bidders to raise offers for former U.S. military base in Crete

Four investors bid last month to acquire the 85 acre plot in Gournes, outside the city of Heraklion, and turn it into a seaside tourist resort with an entertainment park. HRADF said that after short-listing three of them it unsealed their financial offers.

Greece on Thursday asked two bidders to raise their financial offers for a sprawling former U.S. military base on the island of Crete, its privatisation agency (HRADF) said. Four investors bid last month to acquire the 85 acre plot in Gournes, outside the city of Heraklion, and turn it into a seaside tourist resort with an entertainment park.

HRADF said that after short-listing three of them it unsealed their financial offers. In line with the tender's rules which stipulate that a bidder's offer can fall short of the highest one within a certain range, HRADF asked two bidders, Greek developers Dimand and Reds, to improve their offers separately via an e-auction due on Dec. 6, it said.

The euro zone's most indebted country has raised more than 7 billion euros ($7.85 billion) from state asset sales since HRADF was set up in 2011. ($1 = 0.8917 euros)