MegaCities - Athens

Interview with Dora Bakoyanni

As it prepares for the 2004 Olympics, Athens seems to have turned into one of the world’s biggest construction sites. What’s behind this?

Bakoyanni: Athens did not have an ade-quate infrastructure to host the Olympics. In many cases it was not just a question of upgrading or extending existing facilities, but of creating new ones. For example, we had to build a new airport and a new metro network as well as beltways and cross-city highways. Developing such facilities within a city that is already densely built up, naturally causes a lot of disruption. But more than 90 % of the sports, infrastructure and related projects are on track for scheduled completion, or are actually ahead of schedule. On the other hand, about five percent of our projects are causing concern. These include our electric streetcar and bus network, suburban railway connections to the airport, the stadium where the football finals will be held, some of the sports and related facilities, and the steel-and-glass dome over the main Olympic stadium.

What have some of your most noteworthy successes been during your first year in office?

Bakoyanni: We have been improving roads in central Athens. We have expanded park land, set up a program to finance the restoration of architecturally significant buildings, provided better lighting for the most prominent monuments, established a major cleanliness and garbage collection drive, expand-ed the municipal police force, created new schools, improved sports facilities, established a Help at Home phone assistance program for the elderly, and much more.

Cities around the world are going digital. How far along is Athens in this regard?

Bakoyanni: We are behind many major European cities in the area of digital administration and services. And a few of our government offices aren’t even computerized. But there has been revolutionary progress over the past two years with the establishment of so-called Citizens Services Centres, the number of which is expanding rapidly and which will soon be available in every neighbourhood. They are staffed by civil servants and fully equipped, including telephone and Internet connections with all major public services. These offices enable more than half the bureaucratic needs of citizens to be dealt with locally, at walking distance from their homes.

What can companies like Siemens offer the city?

Bakoyanni: Siemens has already made a considerable contribution to the city. It is not a sponsor of the Olympics as such, or of the City of Athens, but it is our country’s number one foreign supplier when it comes to electronic equipment, technology and know-how. Athens has made tremendous improvements in telecommunications over the past 10 to 15 years, and Siemens has largely been responsible for this. As a result, Athens now offers telecommunications comparable to those of other major European cities. This is of great value for the tourism industry, for local and foreign business, and for the public in general. I don’t think the Olympics could have been well-organized without excellent telecommunications.

What do you foresee for Athens’ future?

Bakoyanni: We have two main goals. We want the city to become an attractive, year-round holiday destination, much in the way that London, Paris and Rome are. Second, we want to make the city attractive to business people so that it offers them all the amenities and technological support needed. Athens’ rapid development for the Olympics coincides with the eastward expansion of the European Union from 15 to 25 members. Our city is located at the world’s most important crossroads, and this location has become even more important due to this expansion. We have excellent weather, an outstanding natural environment featuring long coastlines, islands, mountains, archeological sites, holiday resorts, and exciting cultural and entertainment activities. When you put it all together, I just don’t see any other European city that can beat us.

Interview by Evdoxia Tsakiridou