Four new metro stations in Athens’s southeastern suburbs will be ready by the end of 2009, Public Works and Environment Minister Giorgos Souflias said yesterday.

The new underground stations (Ilioupolis, Alimos, Argyroupolis and Hellenikon) will be located on an additional 5.5-kilometer train line that is expected to help ease traffic congestion in the district.

The time needed to reach Syntagma Square, central Athens, will be cut to 15 minutes with the train as compared to the 45 minutes needed to cover the same distance currently by car, said the minister.

An estimated 80,000 commuters are expected to use the new train line when completed.

Ministry officials also said that work is currently being completed on the presidential decree that will turn the previous international airport in Hellenikon into a park.

Construction activity on the new park is expected to start in April, according to officials.