Two months ahead of schedule Station “Venizelos” in Thessaloniki claims that he “Attica Metro”. It is estimated that in April the rearrangement of antiquities will also begin at the Venizelou station, and by June all stations will be ready for full tests. Meanwhile, Attico Metro will still pay the project contractor 45 million euros for delays in the development of the station related to the management of the issue until the end of 2019.

Yesterday in Thessaloniki a meeting was held between the management of Attico Metro, Deputy Minister of Public Works Giorgos Karagiannis and the contractor of the project. “At this stage, AKTOR is gradually transferring the stations to its consortium partners so that testing of systems at the stations can begin,” explains “K” president of Attico Metro, Nikos Takhiaos. “In general, electromechanical installations are checked, i.e. whether doors, ventilation, emergency exits, control systems work properly. At the same time, trains are being tested on the entire electrified section, from the depot to the Fontan station. After the Venizelow station is included in the system, testing will continue throughout the base. The goal is for this to happen in April.”

According to Mr. Tahiao, the construction of the Venizelou station is currently at an advanced stage. “Slabs of the station at levels -2 and -3 have already been built, and the construction of the dock is currently underway. Then all that remains is to build a slab at level -1, which will be inserted below so that the antiquities can be found at their natural level,” he explains. “The rearrangement of antiquities will begin in April. Tomorrow (and therefore today) the relevant research will be discussed at the Central Archaeological Council (CAC).”

At the same time, the last two stations of the line, “Democratias” and “Sidirodromikos”, are in an advanced stage, where work was stopped due to “Venizelos”. “Decisions have already been made to place the antiquities from the excavations in showcases at the Demokratijas station.

Attico Metro will pay the contractor 45 million euros for the delay until the end of 2019.

Attico Metro estimates that the construction of the Agia Sophia station will be completed by May and the Venizelos station by June. “Today, the project contractors informed us that they are two months ahead of schedule and made it clear that they are fully on schedule with the necessary resources and personnel to complete the project by the end of 2023.”

A month ago, two arbitration courts were concluded, to which the consortium’s new claims against Attico Metro were submitted. The arbitral tribunal awarded compensation in the amount of 37 million euros, which, with interest, amounted to 45 million euros, in favor of the consortium. According to Mr. Tahiao, the compensation relates to the delays caused by the change in the project by the previous management of Attico Metro. “One covers the period from April 2018 to December 2019, and the other from June 2017 to December 2019,” he says.

In Kalamaria

As for the extension to Kalamaria, the work is lagging behind the progress of the main project (for unknown reasons, since there were no such problems as the Venizelos station on the main line). “All contractors have been installed (including various expansion systems were awarded different tenders), and we are at the stage of coordinating the work. The construction of civil engineering facilities is at an advanced stage. There are still outstanding issues, but I think we are on track with the expansion,” concludes Mr. Tahiaos.

However, in recent days, the opening of the Papafi station to the public has sparked a confrontation between SYRIZA and the government, with the former accusing the government of “holidays” hiding delays in the project. And the deputy minister will answer that “we are running to win back the time that was stolen from us for appeals and disputes.” It is estimated that around 5,500 citizens visited the Papafi station and depot as part of the Thessaloniki Open Day and had the opportunity to see one of the line’s wires up close.