IOC starts Athens 2004 inspection amid transport woes

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By Karolos Grohmann

ATHENS (Reuters) - International Olympic Committee officials on Wednesday kicked off their penultimate inspection of Athens' preparations for the 2004 Olympics amid concerns that key transport projects were lagging behind.

Officials, led by chief inspector Denis Oswald, will carefully scrutinise Olympic venues and infrastructure projects and are expected to instil a sense of urgency for the Athens tram and suburban railway that have fallen behind schedule.

Athens Games organisers (ATHOC) have also expressed concerns over the construction of the two lines, considered essential to decongest notoriously heavy traffic in the capital during the Games.

Transport experts have said the failure to meet the deadlines for the projects, linking southern Athens venues with the city centre and the airport, would wreak havoc to Athens' traffic plans.

The city expects more than a quarter of a million visitors during the Games in August next year.

"We are as worried over this as they (IOC) are," ATHOC chief Gianna Angelopoulos told reporters this week. "In any case we have to have an alternative which can solve this problem."

While most other projects are under control and after years of delays finally within the tight IOC deadlines, the tram and railway have fallen back because of residents' objections to their routes and faulty environmental planning.

Several parts of the tram line also had to be redrawn so as not to damage central Athens antiquities located near the tracks.

The IOC's Olympic Games executive director told Reuters the two projects were late and organisers should immediately pick up the pace.

"We are happy with all projects except for two that are tense," Gilbert Felli said.

But project leaders said on Tuesday both lines would be ready before the Games with the railroad operating by May next year and the tram up and running by February.

ROOF HEADACHE

The IOC is also concerned about the construction of a dome above the Olympic stadium that is hampering other work around it.

While this project is not an essential one, organisers want the steel and glass roof to be the Games' legacy to the city despite the IOC's worries it will delay other work.

The inspectors on Thursday will tour the venues for a first-hand view of progress before presenting their evaluation on Friday during a news conference.

They will also visit Karaiskaki stadium, currently under construction, which will host the soccer finals.

The start of the stadium's construction near the port of Piraeus was delayed for years but officials now say progress is fast and the project is well ahead of schedule.

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