Souflias at Thessaloniki metro

Αθηναικο Πρακτορείο Ειδήσεων, 23/04/2009

Souflias at Thessaloniki metro

Environment, Town Planning and Public Works Minister George Souflias visited the site of the Thessaloniki metro tunnel, where construction of the first 550 metres of tunnel from the new railway station to Vardaris has been completed. During the visit, Souflias announced that a tender for the contract to extend the Thessaloniki Metro to Kalamaria will begin in the next 10 days.

Speaking during a visit Thursday to the Metro's central workshop, located at the new railway station, Souflias revealed that the excavation and construction of the Metro's first tunnel began in early 2009 and the construction of the parallel tunnel also began on Thursday.

"It is the biggest public transport project currently taking place in Greece," Souflias said, adding that the Metro project is entering its final construction phase, since an average of about 10 metres of double tunnel will be constructed every day.

The minister was welcomed at the Metro workshop by Prefect Panayiotis Psomiadis, Thessaloniki Mayor Vassilis Papageorgopoulos, deputies and agency representatives.

Caption: View of the completed tunnel for the Thessaloniki metro near the city's new railway station, on 23 April 2009. ANA-MPA - Nikos Arvanitidis