Work at Achilleion Palace to be completed by June 2029

The Hellenic Public Properties Co. (ETAD) now puts the completion of the restoration works at the Achilleion Palace in June 2029, according to the official timetable it has submitted to Parliament. The completion of the tender process, the appointment of a contractor, and the preparation of studies and securing of approvals will precede the main construction works.

The details are contained in ETAD’s response to a question submitted by Vassilis Viliardos, MP for the B1 Northern Athens constituency representing the Greek Solution party, concerning the need to expedite the project and ensure special attention is given to the proper execution of the renovation and restoration works at the Palace.

According to ETAD, the Achilleion Museum is one of its business units and is under its management. In order to accelerate the restoration and enhancement of the complex, the project was included in the Strategic Significance Contracts Programme (Project Preparation Facility) of the National Development Fund.

In its response to Parliament, the budget is given as €11.5 million plus VAT. This does not, however, represent a different or reduced budget compared with the approximately €14.2 million announced when the tender was launched. The estimated value of the contract is specifically €11,521,300.12 excluding VAT and, with 24% VAT, amounts to €14,286,412.15. The difference therefore arises from whether the amount is quoted before or after VAT, as well as from rounding. The project is being funded from ETAD’s own resources.

The tender is being conducted on a design-and-build basis, a choice which, according to ETAD, was made to speed up the progress of the project. The existing study was updated and the tender documents and drawings were prepared.

The timetable provides for the receipt and evaluation of financial bids and the selection of a provisional contractor by the end of 2026. In January 2027, the contract is scheduled to be reviewed by the Court of Audit, followed by the signing of the contract with the final contractor in February 2027.

This will be followed by three months for the final design, through May 2027; four months for the approval process by the Central Council for Modern Monuments and the Urban Planning Department, through September; and a further three months for the detailed implementation study, through December 2027. Eighteen months of construction work will then follow, with completion scheduled for June 2029.

The timetable does, however, contain one point that requires clarification. ETAD states that the above periods begin “after the contractor has taken over the site”, while placing the signing of the contract in February 2027. The dates it provides presuppose that the contractor takes over and work on the final design begins immediately after the contract is signed. The 28 months add up mathematically – 3+4+3+18 – from February 2027 to June 2029, without allowing for any additional time between the signing of the contract and the contractor taking over.

Thus, provided there are no delays in the tender process, approvals or construction, completion of the Achilleion Palace is scheduled for mid-2029.

GIORGOS KATSAITIS