Metro is mired in bureaucracy
Fifteen years of legal wrangles and delays may have finally come to an end for the Thessaloniki metro, as the various private and state bodies engage in frenetic talks in Paris on the financial framework this coming week, so that the Greek government can submit a petition for partial funding from the EU structural funds. Prior to this, YPEHODE had asked the contracting firm (Thessaloniki Metro) to submit a binding schedule of activity by April 30. The decision was made to grant an extension to the company after the latter assured the ministry that it had fulfilled all the conditions laid down by the European Investment Bank (EIB). But sources say that EIB has asked Thessaloniki Metro to improve the financial terms of the loans. In addition, a decision by the European Commission against forbidden state subsidies is pending, and may yet prove a thorn in the Greek side. Should the financial framework be sorted out this coming week, the EIB’s executive committee should have it examined by July. If approved, construction may well begin by autumn. However, the contract will have to be changed to match the changes in the metro’s depth. During the preliminary excavations, archaeological finds were made 7.5 meters below the surface, resulting in a request by the archaeological services for the roof of the tunnel to be at 9 or 9.3 meters below ground, at an extra cost to the Greek State of 14.67 million euros (5 billion drachmas). The preliminary surveys for the metro were first drawn up in 1987. The invitation for the submission of offers was made in 1992. But accusations by one of the bidders, Makedoniko Metro, over the fairness of the competition came up before the Commission in 1997, which closed the case in 1998. However, the Commission’s decision was judged to have been insufficiently well reasoned by the European Ombudsman. Despite this, the Greek State signed a contract with Thessaloniki Metro in February 1999, which was approved by Parliament on April 1, 1999. According to the contract, the metro will have 9.4 kilometers of underground, running from east to west, and 14 stations. From Neo Sidirodromiko Station to Papanastasiou, the journey will last 18 minutes, with 18,000 passengers per hour at peak times. The work will cost 657 million euros, with funding by the European Regional Development Fund and the State amounting to 122 million euros each, and 413 million euros provided by the concessionaire’s shareholders funds.
