Time running out for Athens

2004-05-04 13:06

Athens - Come Wednesday dawn Athens counts exactly 100 days to go before showtime for the August 13-29 Olympics.

And as the clock ticks the Greek government whip is literally cracking over building firms as several key projects, notably the roof over the main stadium and the marathon course, are still in limbo.

"Disrespect of completion deadlines will entail the full range of legal sanctions, including withdrawal of operating licences," Greek Public Works Minister Yiorgos Souflias thundered in parliament.

'Surprise' ministerial visits to the worksites have become the rule rather than the exception as constructors have beefed up hirings in a bid to beat deadlines by sheer manpower with work at some sites around the clock.

The 18 000 ton glass-metal roof of the main Olympic stadium remains the biggest headache.

Its basic structure, consisting of two twin arches, each with dozens of metal girders hooked to them, looks finished.

But despite assurances that the arches would start sliding across a 60m distance into their final place on the two sides of the stadium by April 28, engineers still hesitate to budge them.

"There was a problem with a part that took us three days to resolve," an official at the worksite told AFP.

High winds are also hampering work. "It's difficult for workers to operate on strong winds at such a high altitude," said another engineer.

"We make up for lost time by doing work that was scheduled to have started after the sliding," said a source close to the roof's Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava.

Working precariously high above the ground, construction teams are already attaching semi-transparent polycarbon plates to the roof's bare ribs.

June 30 remains the deadline for the roof's completion. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said that roof work has to be finished by then in order to begin more vital work within the 20-year-old stadium.

Thousands of seats and giant screens have yet to be installed and television cables to be rolled out.

The roof's parts also have to move to make room for landscaping works around the stadium. Around half of the 2 700 trees scheduled to be planted in the 100-hectares surrounding area still wait to take roots.

The half-finished 42km marathon course is another major headache. Organisers have promised an idyllic, olive tree lined course. But much of the road still resembles First World War trenches. An AFP correspondent visiting the site on Sunday saw around a hundred workers busily digging at various parts of the building site.

- AFP