Reassuring in Parliament was the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Nikos Tachiaos, stressing that at this moment there is no danger to any building in the area of Kypseli such that it would need to be abandoned, and that the damage is repairable, according to the visual inspections that were carried out.
At the same time, he assured that the resumption of works for the construction of Line 4 will take place only if it is determined that the passage of the tunnel boring machine is absolutely safe, and that all damage to all buildings in which problems were identified will be repaired.
“Everything will be done as it should be done, everything will be done without burdening the residents and there will be full confirmation of the safety of the buildings”, was the Deputy Minister’s characteristic remark, responding to relevant questions from independent MPs Nassos Iliopoulos and Eleni Karageorgopoulou.
For their part, both Mr. Iliopoulos and Ms. Karageorgopoulou spoke of the need for immediate recording and restoration of the damage and full assurance of the residents’ safety in Kypseli before the restart of Line 4.
Commenting on the reasonable, as he described them, concerns of the residents of the area, Mr. Tachiaos noted that the contractor company Elliniko Metro is a public enterprise, has very great expertise in tunnel excavation and there is no chance that any of its engineers would stick their neck out and cover anything that is not carried out in accordance with the principles of science and engineering.
As he said, at the meeting he had with the residents, in which the contractor also participated, it was agreed that there would be no resumption of the works unless they were informed about the way in which it would take place.
“First, the restart of the project must be absolutely safe, second, all damage will be fully repaired, at the contractor’s expense as provided by the existing contract, and third, in order for the damage to be properly recorded, a programmatic contract will be made with the Technical Chamber of Greece (TEE) and at the expense of Elliniko Metro so that there will be an expert assessment that will be absolutely objective with regard to the buildings”, Mr. Tachiaos stressed.
He placed emphasis on the concerns that exist about the safety of the buildings, saying characteristically: “The most important thing of all, because there is concern about safety, is that, as has emerged, at least from the visual inspections, at this moment there is no danger to any building such that it would need to be abandoned and that the damage is repairable.
This is the initial picture that exists from visual inspection. And it is not the only inspection that was carried out—because the team of experts has not limited itself only to this—but has gone further as well, to make specific records and will produce technical reports which are very serious”.
“I communicated with the residents by phone in August and told them that we are not ready even to present the reintegration study until we are absolutely sure that there will be no problem in the buildings, neither in those through which the Tunnel Boring Machine passed, nor in those that follow, and that they will be given the TEE expert assessments when they are absolutely ready and absolutely documented.
Documentation is not something that is done only through visual inspection but is something that requires a very serious approach to an issue which I also understand very well rightly causes concern to the residents. If I suddenly saw cracks in my house, it is obvious that I too would be upset. Therefore, there is no chance that the people of Kypseli will be left exposed for this reason”, the Deputy Minister added.
“There is no government, of any party, that wants to leave some people with cracks in their homes or with problems in their buildings. I made no assessment of the condition of the buildings, I cannot rule out the possibility that some interventions may be needed that have to do with the structural reinforcement of the buildings that have been affected. This will emerge through the TEE expert assessments. Everything will be done as it should be done, without burdening the residents, and there will be full confirmation of the safety of the buildings”, Mr. Tachiaos pointed out and concluded:
“I believe Elliniko Metro has done its job very well. There are probably failures, there may possibly also be unforeseen conditions that created the problem. The problem is here, we will deal with it and we will not leave anyone exposed, not only to the problem, but even more so to political exploitation”.
SOURCE: ANA-MPA