The first of the two metropontia of line 4 is about to leave for the bowels of the Athenian land. metro. Another is expected to come Hellas in July with the intention of taking action in October. However, the development of the project is influenced by political criteria, as shown by the example Exarchia and Rizari stationsto which there is a “special treatment”.

Assembly of the first metropondik, in the pit of the construction site on the street. avenue katechaki, almost completed. The Prime Minister was even informed about the progress of work yesterday Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The metropontic is expected to start work in early May with the task of digging and building a 5.1 km tunnel from Katehaki to “Evangelismo” (Rizari) within 22 months. The rest of the tunnel (7.2 km) will be built by another metropontika within 28 months, starting from the construction site at Weikou Avenue in Galati. The second metropontica will depart in June from Schwanau, Germany and is expected to arrive in Greece a month later.

Two metropontics (TBM) with a diameter of 9.5 meters, a length of 100 meters and a weight of 1,500 tons each were made to order, taking into account the special conditions of the Athenian subsoil. It is estimated that on average they will build 14 meters of tunnel per day.

IN “Attica Metro” they remain optimistic about the development of the project, although one delay follows another. According to the contract, all sections of the stations were to be transferred to the project contractor in July 2022, and shafts – in October 2022. So far, only three sections of the stations have been commissioned, where archaeological excavations and relocation of engineering networks have been completed. : in Kolonaki, Academy and Courts.

In July, a second metropontica is expected in Greece – at Exarchia and Rizari stations, political criteria influence the delay.

And if in some cases the delay is justified, for example. from the slow pace of response by the companies that run the utilities to some others, notably Exarchia and Rizari, they appear to have been influenced by political criteria. In Exarchia, the transfer of vegetation (for replanting) from the area should have already begun for there to be reasonable hope of its survival. As a result, archaeological research cannot be continued and is currently limited to the central point of the square. This means that either work will be delayed until autumn, or the vegetation will be removed for a period that will have no hope of survival. According to the information, the main reason for the delay is that the government does not want to open the front in Exarchia before the elections, as the cutting and removal of trees is sure to provoke a reaction.

Appeal to the Supreme Court

And in Rizari there is not even a construction site, for no good reason. As in the case of other stations, an appeal was filed with the Council of State (in connection with the imminent destruction of vegetation), but without filing protective measures, the adoption of which would necessarily “freeze” the project. Thus, Attico Metro is not legally obliged not to start a project that, in this particular case, is already more than a year behind schedule. Company sources say valuable time was wasted both in preparing for the Supreme Court case (heared but not yet decided) and in considering alternative solutions to limit the area of ​​the site. As they report, a technical study (TEPEM) was submitted to the Ministry of the Environment a few months ago for the Rizari well, where the two metropontia will meet and come to the surface (not yet approved).

According to the company, in the coming days TEPEM will be handed over for the construction of the station (without changes compared to the original project), the approval of which will pave the way for the start of work.