INFRASTRUCTUREPiraeusGreece’s Ma<strong>in</strong> PortPuts on a New FaceThe largest port <strong>in</strong> Greece is <strong>in</strong> a race aga<strong>in</strong>st time. By 2004, 17 major projects relatedto the Olympic Games will have been completed, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g a traml<strong>in</strong>e, two new mar<strong>in</strong>as, anunderground park<strong>in</strong>g lot for 700 cars, and new berths for cruise ships. Piraeus' renewal effortswill cont<strong>in</strong>ue after the Olympic Games, when its ú600 million face-lift will be completed.Piraeus’ image and stature havebeen suffer<strong>in</strong>g for years. In the1980s, more than 300 <strong>in</strong>dustrialcompanies and more than 1,000trad<strong>in</strong>g companies closed, elim<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>gthousands of jobs. In the 1990s, shipp<strong>in</strong>gcompanies, which had traditionallybeen headquartered <strong>in</strong> the area,began mov<strong>in</strong>g away, to the north of thecity. The importance of the oncemighty f<strong>in</strong>ancial center was erod<strong>in</strong>g.But EU Third Community SupportFramework funds and Olympic Gamesfund<strong>in</strong>g are beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g to heal thewounds <strong>in</strong>flicted on Piraeus. Nextyear, 2004, will be a landmark for Piraeusand its residents, when a varietyof important projects will have beencompleted. Among them are the renovationof the Flisvos and Zea mar<strong>in</strong>as,the renovation of the area surround<strong>in</strong>gPiraeus Port Authorities S.A. (OLP)conference facility, the restoration ofthe historic center, and the renovationof the Peace and Friendship Stadium.In addition, the city's university willhave a new home at the site of a <strong>form</strong>errets<strong>in</strong>a factory.The projects, now underway, areturn<strong>in</strong>g many areas of the city <strong>in</strong>toheavy construction sites but will have agreat impact on chang<strong>in</strong>g the image ofPiraeus. New berths for cruise ships, anew 5-star hotel <strong>in</strong> the Palataki area,and the creation of a new passengerstation <strong>in</strong> the Vassiliadis area are theprimary projects planned for the centralport. It is estimated that on the basisof the elaborate plan, the total costof all the public works projects <strong>in</strong> Piraeuswill exceed ú600 million.Port construction projectsvalued at ú45 millionAccord<strong>in</strong>g to data published <strong>in</strong> the"Piraeus <strong>in</strong> 2004" white paper, worksat the central port alone are estimatedto have a value of ú45 million. Thenew berths for cruise ships are <strong>in</strong> thef<strong>in</strong>al stages of construction and whenthey are completed passenger transportcapacity will <strong>in</strong>crease by 30%.Accord<strong>in</strong>g to officials, there will be7,000 cruise ship cab<strong>in</strong>s availabledur<strong>in</strong>g the Games, 30% of which willbe assigned to the Olympics Organiz<strong>in</strong>gCommittee. The rest will be availableto the public. The new passengerstation will have been completed byDecember 2003, and the hotel atPalataki <strong>in</strong> December 2004. Themodern water supply network <strong>in</strong> thecentral port is expected to be concluded<strong>in</strong> December 2003, the landscap<strong>in</strong>gof the surround<strong>in</strong>g area <strong>in</strong> March2004, and the construction of the undergroundpark<strong>in</strong>g lot, with a capacityof 700 park<strong>in</strong>g spaces, <strong>in</strong> July 2004.Accord<strong>in</strong>g to the white paper, thePeace and Friendship Stadium willhave been renovated by December2003—along with the mar<strong>in</strong>a beh<strong>in</strong>dthe stadium—while the Piraeus MunicipalTheater is expected to be completelyrestored by April 2005.12 AEGEAN NEWS SPRING 2003
PHOTOS: YIORGOS DEPOLLASSPRING 2003 AEGEAN NEWS 13
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