MegaCities - Athens
Jump-Starting an Ancient Metropolis
This summer, the Olympic Games will come home to their birthplaceAthensa perfect reason to fundamentally update the Greek capitals infrastructures.
Fresh faces for ancient monuments. By the time the Olympics open in Athens, important parts of the citys ancient Acropolis, such as the Parthenon, will have been restored
Athens is changing," says Dr. Michael Christoforakos, who heads up Siemens operations in Greece. "Not just because it is growing rapidly, but also as a result of globalization and its increasing level of integration with worldwide data and communication networks." Indeed, Athens has experienced dramatic population growth throughout its recent history, transforming itself from hardly more than a village in the nineteenth century to a major city with over 5 million people in the 20th. Now, it faces the challenge of becoming a 21st century metropolis; in other words, improving its infrastructure and quality of life while creating a more business-friendly environment.
Like most big cities, Athens has a fair share of problems, many of which are traffic-related. Roads need to be improved and environmental protection needs to be taken more seriously. Specifically, the city needs sophisticated infrastructures such as intelligent traffic management systems, state-of-the-art mobile communication networks, urban rail systems, environmentally friendly power generation, and building automation systems. The Olympic Games are helping to provide an answer in some of these areas. For example with regard to security it is estimated that more than 50,000 security and public safety personnel will be needed to provide venue security and emergency services, athlete and dignitary security, traffic management, crowd control, aviation security, and prohibit criminal and terrorist incidents. Effectively coordinating and managing such a large security force will be a major undertaking, involving challenges such as the coordination of security efforts over a hundred Olympic venues and key sites and the handling of crisis situations by security commanders while conducting routine operations.
Olympics as a Catalyst. Christoforakos states that "the Olympic Games impose extreme pressure and demands on city infrastructures. Therefore, the technologies required must be innovative and very reliable. Thats why Siemens is involved in so many of our state-of-the-art projects." Siemens is the major contractor in a consortium with U.S.-based SAIC, IBM, Motorola and other local partners. The consortium is working with the Athens Olympics Organising Committee to ensure that the 2004 Olympic Games are supported by a sophisticated C4I (Command-Control-Communication-Computers & Intelligence) infrastructure. The C4I will be installed in all venues to cover all Olympic events.
Siemens is responsible for the supply, installation and commissioning of various C4I sub-systems, including five main and 29 regional command centers, the Athens Roads CCTV Traffic Management and Surveillance Network, the CCTV network for all Olympic venues, the perimeter security and access control system for the nine Olympic ports; the C4I system WANs and LANs; the Olympic Security Digital Trunked Radio Network, which will support 22,000 subscribers, and finally the Automatic Vehicle Location system covering a fleet of 4,000 vehicles. Siemens is also involved in:
- building four gas-insulated switchgear substations to improve the citys power distribution capacity;
- expanding the citys Metro Lines, providing trains, electrification and signaling;
- a novel telematics project for the bus fleet;
- providing a new generation of locomotives for connecting the airport and the suburban network to Piraeus and Corinth;
- implementing the Olympic Ticket Call Center in record timea technologically state-of-the-art information and communications project and a 24/7 service center capable of responding to calls from all over the world;
- commissioning an optical fiber network for cable TV in the Olympic village and the International Broadcast Center;
- supporting the expansion of GSM infrastructure. Local Olympic sponsor CosmOTE has expanded to reach four times its original capacity, while all three national GSM networks are already piloting UMTS technology.
Best Practices. Siemens has been an active partner to Greeces public sector for over 100 years. It has participated in establishing the infrastructure of modern Greece, from the foundation and modernization of telecommunication networks, to the modernization of the railway network. From the Athens Metro to power plants and the largest and most modern hospitals in the country. Says Christoforakos, "Siemens is in an excellent position to propose high tech solutions for Athens. Based on its global experience, it can participate in the problem-solving process by providing best practices from other urban centers that have faced similar challenges."
Christoforakos expects that by 2020 Athenians will use mobile communication devices to transmit and receive up to 200 times the volume of data per second that is currently possible. Users will be able to gain unlimited and unimpaired Internet access, browse libraries, download city maps and all types of forms, hold video conferences on the move, and call up any kind of information they need. Mobile devices will also provide access to a digital city hall, including online employment services, and an electronic marketplace.
Works in progress. From left: a suspension bridge to the Peloponnesian peninsula, a stadium for beach volleyball and the Olympic Committee building
Even more services will be available at info-kiosks installed in public areas. Tele-learning and tele-medicine as well as discussion forums on regional issues or public opinion polls will all be expanded and available to more and more users in the near future. Finally, people with special needs will be able to access a full range of services and will be integrated as much as possible into the citys everyday activities.
Greece, and Athens in particular, is in a unique geo-political position. It is a fully developed member of the European Community, with a modern economy and political system. Its location in the Balkans and close to the Middle East, and its traditional ties and contacts with these areas, can allow it to play a significant role in the development, modernization and political stability of the region. Says Christoforakos: "With all these infrastructures in place to ensure the quality of life of its citizens, Athens can aim for a bright future as a metropolis, which, having the appropriate legal and financial infrastructures, will enhance its role as a hub for South-Eastern Europe. Siemens wants to assist the city of Athens to become a truly modernized European city."
Evdoxia Tsakiridou