WRITTEN QUESTION No. 371/99 by Konstantinos HATZIDAKIS Delays in construction of Athens underground railway
Date: 1999-02-17
Institutions: European Parliament, HATZIDAKIS
Subjects: Community support framework, EU financing, European Regional Development Fund, Greece, contract, geology, public works, underground railway













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91999E0371

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 371/99 by Konstantinos HATZIDAKIS Delays in construction of Athens underground railway  


Official Journal C 341 , 29/11/1999 P. 0101 





WRITTEN QUESTION P-0371/99by Konstantinos Hatzidakis (PPE) to the Commission(17 February 1999)Subject: Delays in construction of Athens underground railwayConstruction of the Athens underground railway, a project jointly funded by the Union, was due for completion by the end of 1998. However, according to the second progress report drawn up by the Global View company, there are certain difficulties with the project which were unforeseen only to a minor extent and were not major causes of delay, whereas most delays were caused by choosing the wrong mechanical equipment for particular soils, even though they were not different from those described in the geotechnical surveys. The Ministry of the Environment, Regional Planning and Public Works, however, agreed to a two-year extension for completion of the work owing to unforeseen geological conditions, without holding the contractor responsible. It should be noted that in 1994, the contract was amended, making DRS 6,7 billion available to the contractor to speed up the work so that the project would be finished and operational by October 1998.Can the Commission answer the following:1. What is the Commission's opinion about the cause of the delay, given that the geotechnical surveys had anticipated the technical difficulties?2. What guarantees does the contract for the construction of the Athens underground railway provide to ensure due completion of the work on time and why are they not being invoked in these circumstances?3. What is the amount of unused Community appropriations for this project and is there any risk that its budget may be cut because of low take-up?.Answer given by Mrs Wulf-Mathies on behalf of the Commission(19 March 1999)According to the information which the Greek authorities have provided to the Commission, there are two main reasons for the delays in building the Athens underground railway: archaeological excavations, which lasted much longer than the six months per site provided for in the contract signed in 1991, and geological conditions which were not foreseen, despite the 1 125 soil tests carried out over the 18 kilometre length of the tunnel.The contract includes clauses covering unjustified delays. It is up to the two contracting parties to decide whether to invoke these clauses, if such delays do occur. This has not so far happened.The European Regional Development Fund allocated EUR 783 million to the Athens underground railway project under the Community support framework for 1994-99. Of this amount EUR 90 million remains to be paid in 1999 and 2000. There is no doubt that all this amount will be paid before the end of 2000.