“An amazing piece of work that will change Thessaloniki”; these are the words of Mr. Carsten Rasmussen, Head of Unit, Cyprus & Greece, Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO), European Commission, after his on-site inspection and visit at the Metro facilities.
Mr. Rasmussen, accompanied by Mr. Georgios Zervos, Secretary General for the Management of Sectoral Programmes of the European Fund for Regional Development (ERDF), the Cohesion Fund and the European Social Fund – Ministry of Economy and Finance and by Mr. Demetrios Pallas, Head of the Special Service for the Management of the “TRANSPORTATION 2021-2027” Program, were guided at the Depot areas and the Metro stations by Mr. Nikolaos Kouretas, CEO of ELLINIKO METRO S.A..
“I am not exaggerating when I say that I think the Metro itself is going to be in the future one of the tourist attractions of the city” commented Mr. Rasmussen at the end of the guided tour, while he also stated being extremely impressed from VENEZELOU Station where the last works for the display of the archaeological finds are in progress. “It is unique in the world. It’s fantastic” he emphatically said.
Moreover, Mr. Rasmussen expressed his satisfaction on the progress of works, confirming that there are minor things still missing, for which all persons involved work hard to have them completed on time. “Everybody knows the very very long history of this Project and I have to be honest, I came here with a little of bit of skepticism that it would actually be close to finish. I can confirm that it is. There are very minor things still missing. It will be a hectic timeline till the 30th of November, but I am absolutely confident that they will make it”, Mr. Rasmussen concluded.
On the occasion of Mr. Rasmussen’s visit at Thessaloniki Metro facilities, Mr. Nikolaos Kouretas, CEO of ELLINIKO METRO S.A. made the following statement: “It was a great pleasure to welcome Mr. Rasmussen at the Thessaloniki Metro Project. We feel very proud not only for Mr. Rasmussen’s positive comments on the Project, but also for the fact that, after several years of difficulties and entanglements, we are entering the final stretch to deliver to the citizens of Thessaloniki a major state-of-the-art transportation project, worthy of the long standing history of the city”.
