Greece 's government Wednesday named advisers for its ambitious EUR50 billion privatization program, which it hopes will help pay down the country's giant public debt and allow the it to return to the capital markets after being effectively frozen out for almost a year.

The finance ministry said in a statement that it would present a detailed plan of its overall program--which calls for EUR15 billion in privatizations by 2013 and EUR50 billion by 2015--within weeks.

"The plan is currently under development and will be completed and will be presented within the next weeks," the statement said following a meeting of the government's interministerial privatization committee.

However, the committee proceeded to appoint advisers for the first three projects, and said it would follow up with naming advisers for another half dozen planned privatizations by the end of the second quarter this year.

In a statement, the finance ministry said it had named France 's BNP Paribas SA (13110.FR) and the National Bank of Greece SA (NBG) to act as advisers in its efforts to extend the privately managed concession for the Athens International Airport .

That concession was originally granted to German engineering conglomerate Hochtief AG (HOT.X) for a 30-year period in 2001. But both Hochtief and past Greek governments have been keen to extend it, while Greece has also previously considered listing a portion of its 55% stake in the airport.

The committee also said it had appointed Citigroup Inc (C) and Piraeus Bank SA (TPEIR.AT) as financial advisers for a separate project to exploit the site formerly occupied by the old Athens airport in a suburb south of the capital. The plot, located in an upscale area of Athens , is expected to raise at least EUR5 billion from prospective developers.

Likewise, it named Lazard Ltd (LAZ) as financial adviser in its plans to restructure and expand the commercial operations of the state-owned Loans and Consignment Fund.

The committee also said it would appoint advisers in the next few weeks to catalogue the state's vast land holdings--which have an estimated value of close to EUR300 billion--but which have never been fully assessed. It said that the first survey of state-owned land would be completed by June and updated every six months.

Since May of last year, Greece has been struggling to close a yawning budget gap after narrowly avoiding default with the help of a EUR110 billion bailout from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

However, worries about the country's ability to repay its massive public debt--equal to about EUR340 billion and close to one and-a-half times annual gross domestic product--have made investors reluctant to lend to Greece.

Over the next three years, the government is also aiming to privatize a range of assets from the national railroad company, to regional airports and the national lottery.

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