“By the end of February, the first TBM shall reach EFKLIDIS Station, the first completed Thessaloniki Metro Station, with thesecond TBM arriving by the end of March”.
This is the statement made by Mr. Yiannis Magriotis, Deputy Minister of YPOMEDI (Ministry of Infrastructure, Transport and Networks), during today’s visit at EFKLIDIS Station made in order to give his season’s greetings to the employees and reassure them about the will of the government to proceed ever faster with the execution of this major project and address once and for all the inherited delays and problems.
“2010 was a difficult year; however, during this year, we managed to lay the foundations for overcoming major problems”. Mr. Magriotis also added that “2011 is the year in which most problems of the past shall be solved, all worksites shall be fully developed and hopefully, by the end of the year, we shall have a nominated Contractor for the extension to Kalamaria; at the same time, the relevant designs for the extensions to the western suburbs of Thessaloniki shall have been completed”.
“The plan of the government, which coincides with the will of the residents of Thessaloniki, is to develop a Metro network which shall cover the entire urban cluster of Thessaloniki and which, together with the other Public Transport Modes, shall render Thessaloniki a more friendly and functional city for its residents and a more attractive city to visitors and investors”.
“It is my conviction that by the end of 2014, early 2015, it is feasible to have the Base Line completed, if no insurmountable problems arise, and that the Metro Line extending from the NEW RAILWAY STATION to Mikra can be commissioned. At the same time, the tender for the first line, as a minimum, of the westbound extension is feasible to be conducted. Therefore, by 2018, 2020 at the latest, the entire Metro network shall be available. The city needs fully developed Public Transport Modes and more precisely, Fixed Track Modes in the 2nd decade of the 21st century. This is the only way in which the city of Thessaloniki can become an important metropolitan, financial, educational center, a friendly city, a city consciously selected for living and developing financial and enterprising activities by both Greek and foreign citizens, offering employment opportunities and social cohesion”.
Subsequently, the Deputy Minister answered the questions of journalists on the recent layoffs of employees of the Contracting Joint Venture, as well as on the construction of ANALIPSI Station.
Laid-off employees shall be re-employed
With regard to the 37 employees laid-off on the Christmas eve, Mr. Magriotis stated that these employees were laid-off in the framework of the worksite re-structuring and that they, as this has already been the case in the past, shall be re-employed in other construction fronts and/or in the new shifts prepared by the Archaeological Department for accelerating excavation works.
Moreover, concerning the closure of Delfon Street, at its section extending between M. Botsari and P. Syndika Streets, Mr.Magriotis pointed out that ATTIKO METRO S.A., in co–operation with the management of Thessaloniki Trade Association, hasalready contacted the affected shop–owners, in order to mitigate the negative impact on their businesses.
Finally, as far as the progress of the works at the eastern part of Thessaloniki is concerned, Mr. Magriotis stated the following: “We are faced with a number of problems due to wrong choices of Station locations and other types of insufficient planning, as well as due to the lack of the necessary expropriations. There were lengthy delays in addition to the delay concerning PAPAFIO Station. The first TBM is currently passing through the area of Papafio without the Station having been constructed. There are people with a share of responsibility for the delays in the project, as well as for the additional cost that the citizens will be called to pay.
The construction of FLEMING Station is in progress, while all works executed in the eastern part of the city are in track with the pertinent Time Schedules”.
The Deputy Minister of YPOMEDI participated in the New Year’s celebrations held earlier at the premises of Thessaloniki Metro Projects Department and gave his season’s greetings to ATTIKO METRO S.A. employees wishing them success in the common effort for the construction of the first major public project of Thessaloniki, a project that will give the city a new identity, shall decisively contribute towards making the city more friendly and functional for its citizens, as well as attractive for its visitors and investors.
Mr. Magriotis said: “We shall keep on making our best efforts because ahead of us we have a lot of work for the Metro Base Line, as well as for the extension to Kalamaria and the extensions to the west. As you know, our planning, implemented by ATTIKO METRO S.A., aims at creating a wide network of Metro Lines in Thessaloniki, which, combined with the other Public Transport Modes, shall permanently resolve the problem of viable mobility, so much needed by Thessaloniki. It is my belief that we shall succeed and that’s why we give our best and we are so passionate, since the Metro project is an objective that unites us all”.
Mr. Georgios Konstantinidis, Manager of Thessaloniki Metro Projects Department and Prof. Konstantinos Spyrakos, Vice Chairman of the BoD, gave their greetings to the personnel during the aforementioned New Year’s celebrations, while Mr. Konstantinos Zervas, member of the BoD and Deputy Mayor of Thessaloniki and Mr. Yiannis Kirkinezis, Contracts Manager of the Contracting Joint Venture were also present.
