Metro Line 4 tender has hemmed the extension in Marousi and Ilioupoli

The tender for the development of the new Metro line in Athens is moving quickly. The auction of the 4th line, that has lasted for more than 3 years has already been characterized as a “perpetual tender”, which has occupied the judicial authorities with the continuous appeals of the participants in all stages of the tender.

According to secure information from ypodomes.com, at this time the effort is intensifying so that the two finalist consortia that are fighting for the big project are “retreating” in relation to the attempt of their mutual self-destruction through court appeals to save the project. It is to be reminded that the two remaining forces are AVAX SA- GHELLA SpA -ALSTOM TRANSPORT S.A. and AKTOR ATE – ANSALDO STP S.p.A – HITACHI RAIL ITALY SPA.

It is obvious, according to qualified sources, that the endless battle is waning and that the chances of it being canceled are still high since valuable time is constantly being lost. At the we are waiting for the adjudication of the protective measures submitted by the two consortia. The application for annulment that has been filed will be heard in the fall and the decision will take place sometime in 2021.

It is clear that the fate of the tender is now in the hands of the two consortia and any development, positive or negative will be determined by the choices they make. The contract of 1.8 billion euros (amount with VAT) is a strong incentive for further battle, but it may eventually prove to be the weak point of the whole business dispute that may cost the war itself in progress.

The preliminary works and the auction to Perissos and Katehaki

At the same time, as ypodomes.com has learned that the famous decision of the CoS for the preliminary works and the voices that said that at least this work could start, was issued only in July. In other words, the decision may have been announced months ago, but the official document that gives the legal entity in the decision was issued 1.5 months ago.

Also, it is almost certain that even with the announcement of ERETVO as a temporary contractor, there will be appeals resulting in the continuation of the judicial carousel in this project which is a deferral sect so that the main project can run.

Commonly, the construction of Line 4, still has a “road” ahead of it until it ends and the chances for the fate of the largest public project from the payment of the Greek state are divided. The misfortune is that time passes and every year that the tender is underway, it is deducted from valuable funds of the NSRF that would end up in the contractor and consequently in the real economy of constructions.

In the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, however, they have in their planning the union of the first phase of line 4 with Perissos and Katehaki in order for the new line to have a sufficient connection with the other three lines.

This is a proposal that Nea Demokratia has made since the time it was in the opposition and that it had rightly pointed out that the line is “losing”. The intention to auction these two small extensions, in addition to the obvious usefulness they have, is also a wink to whoever finally takes over the project since it will have a comparative advantage over the competition, but only if ultimately the tender for the Veikos Grove – Mortar bears fruit and does not end up on the rocks.