Contractor found for Thessaloniki metro extension
Thessaloniki’s long-awaited metro line may not be ready yet but a contractor has already been found for its westward extension.
Construction company Aktor was on Thursday awarded a 312-million-euro contract to build the extension, which will run to the suburb of Mikra.
The project to build the main metro line, which has been promised to residents of Thessaloniki for many years, is still some way from completion. The two tunnel-boring machines have dug about half of the route but have been out of action for almost a year as archaeological finds and funding problems have held up progress.
Officials, however, are expecting the construction of the extension to be much more straightforward as much of the route will run under an existing road, meaning there will be less scope for ancient artifacts and land appropriation, which will cost 84 million euros, to delay construction.
