Olympic venues: ‘Build in haste, repent at leisure’

Expensive installations in need of urgent repairs

By Effi Hadzioannidou - Kathimerini

Built at top speed at a total cost of 2.5-3 billion euros, the Olympic venues opened on the eve of the Games for just a few weeks. A few months later, although they have hardly been used, a number of technical or functional problems have become apparent.

Engineers and other technical staff knew what these would be, given the haste with which the venues were built and at costs that were up to 30 percent over budget. But no one expected that they would become so quickly apparent. The costly Olympic Stadium roof designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, his pedestrian bridge over Mesogeion Avenue, the marathon route, flood protection works along the new tramlines, the Peace and Friendship Stadium, drains in the Main Press Center and International Broadcasting Center, the Olympic swimming pool, Galatsi Stadium and the anti-doping headquarters at the main Olympic complex are just some of the venues cited as having faulty construction.

Many of these problems have also been discovered by the authorities, and some are being repaired at a cost that, as a rule, is to be covered by the constructor, since hardly any of the venues have been officially handed over to the state, which will be forced to pay double if it misses out on the opportunity to have the problems rectified before the contractors leave.

The famous Calatrava roof over the Olympic Stadium cost the Greek State 260,780,000 euros, but presented problems even while still under construction. According to Philippos Vassileiou, an independent surveyor and civil engineer on static and transport works, the percentages of metal Calatrava originally provided for were insufficient for the static safety of the structure he envisaged.

“Nine revisions were made to the original design, all of them at extra cost, in order to arrive at the final version which was eventually implemented. The construction was carried out by an Australian firm without the participation of Greeks. During the building phase a number of difficulties emerged either related to mistakes in building materials or to the scale of the project, which was unprecedented for Greece.

When the project was completed and handed over, added Vassileiou, the German firm Bunk undertook to inspect it based on the designs in the possession of the construction firm, not the Greek State. No one knew the data for the structure’s anti-seismic, welding or wind resistance specifications.

The Olympic Games were followed by a number of disputes and rumors about the roof’s safety. Many experts claimed that such a complicated structure should not be left even a day without being monitored and maintained.

Finally the Culture Ministry, which is responsible for maintaining the roof’s structure, decided to get involved.

Only three weeks ago was it in the position to guarantee the safety of the roof after receiving assurances from Lloyd’s insurance company of Germany.

According to the ministry, Lloyd’s ruled that the structure was at no risk from earthquake or static problems.

Of course, this evaluation does not rule out the need for the continual and expert maintenance provided for in the project contract.

Although the blueprints are to be handed over to the state with the official submission of the project (so far, only an administrative handover has taken place), Bunk’s engineers are already working with more than 50 engineers at the ministry who now have a complete picture of the structure and can intervene where necessary.

“Shoddy work has been found along the marathon route, where drainage work was never constructed due to major delays as a result of the change in contractors,” said Theodoros Dragiotis, general secretary of the Technical Chamber of Greece. “Right up until the last minute, everyone’s concern was to get the road surface ready for use. Now the road will have to be closed again in order to complete the flood protection work.”

The same problem has arisen with the tram service, a project that cost at least 380 million euros. Built at top speed, the lines were laid over drains along the route. The seaside suburbs of Glyfada and Palaio Faliron are facing major problems with rainwater runoff. In many places, the lines will have to be taken up so drainage work can be done.”