Achilleion Palace: New contract while the first remains outstanding

The publication of the new tender for the restoration of the Achilleion Palace, with a budget of €14.2 million including VAT, has revived hopes that the long-troubled project will finally be completed, but it has also raised questions about the previous contract, which was terminated leaving a significant part of the work unfinished.

These issues are at the heart of a new intervention by independent Corfu MP Alekos Avlonitis, who, prompted by comments from Deputy Minister of Shipping Stefanos Gikas, has announced that he will bring the matter before Parliament once again.

“What is actually happening with the Achilleion Palace? Stop fooling the people of Corfu,” he said, questioning the celebratory tone with which Mr. Gikas welcomed the publication of the tender and thanked the ministries involved, the Hellenic Public Properties Company (ETAD) and the Hellenic Corporation of Assets and Participations.

From 2020 to the Termination of the Contract

The current tender is essentially the second attempt to complete the restoration. The original project was approved on June 1, 2020, with a total budget of €12.95 million. Responsibilities were divided between ETAD and the Ministry of Culture, with the former undertaking the main building works and the Ministry of Culture responsible for the conservation of exhibits, murals and plasterwork, as well as the museum display.

On March 23, 2021, ETAD signed the major construction contract, with a duration of 24 months. The contractor had offered a discount of approximately 49.4%, bringing the contract price down to around €5.8 million.

The project was not completed. An extension was granted until November 23, 2023, and the following day the contractor requested termination of the contract. In the meantime, there had been major increases in the prices of construction materials. Work had been carried out on sections of the complex, but the Main Palace and other critical interventions remained unfinished.

In April 2024, ETAD approved the termination of the contract, followed by updates to the studies and preparations for a new tender. Final acceptance of the previous contract was recorded in June 2025, and the process has now reached the new €14.2 million tender.

Alekos Avlonitis’ Questions

“Can he give us, as Corfiots, one reason to thank ETAD for keeping the Achilleion Palace closed for five years?” Alekos Avlonitis asks, while also calling for a clear timetable for when the monument’s gates will reopen.

His most important question, however, concerns the financial accounting. He is calling for disclosure of how much money was spent under the first contract, which works were paid for, how the contract was terminated and what penalties, if any, were imposed.

He also asks how the new budget has reached €14.2 million when the original project had a budget of €12.95 million and some of the work has already been carried out.

A comparison of the figures alone is not sufficient, since price increases, new studies and possible changes to the scope of the project have intervened. It does, however, make a detailed accounting necessary: what was paid for, what was delivered, what remains to be done and how much the restoration will ultimately cost.

Alekos Avlonitis has announced a new parliamentary intervention. And behind the political dispute remains the fundamental question concerning one of Corfu’s most important monuments: when will the Achilleion Palace finally reopen?

GIORGOS KATSAITIS