Transport in Thessaloniki

According to a report in German newspaper Spiegel report Fraport, the company that bought out 14 Greek regional airports is seeking financial compensation amounting to 70 million euros by the Greek state due the condition the airport terminals were in.

As the influx of undocumented migrants from neighboring Turkey across the Aegean continues unabated, increasing pressure on facilities on the islands that are already overcrowded, Migration Minister Yiannis Mouzalas has warned of an increase in arrivals from the Turkish land border too.

In the latest clash between the judiciary and the leftist-led government, the Council of State on Friday suspended a decision by the Transport Ministry to renationalize the Thessaloniki Urban Transport Organization (OASTH).

The ruling followed an appeal by shareholders in OASTH for plans to liquidate the company to be suspended.

There was a changing of the guard at the Thessaloniki Urban Transport Organization (OASTH) on Thursday but it appears that the denunciation of the government's decision to remove the existing board and bring the firm under public control isn't going to stop anytime soon.

The number of arrivals at the 14 regional airports managed by the consortium led by Germany's Fraport has risen significantly so far this year.

Construction commenced Friday on the second tunnel of the Thessaloniki metro's extension to the suburb of Kalamaria. This stretch of the subway system, which is still under construction after years of delays, will have five stops.

A tunnel drill dubbed Elli is expected to break ground at the Nea Krini station on Monday as work continues on the much-beleaguered construction of the Thessaloniki metro, the head of the company responsible for the project, Attiko Metro SA, has said.

Employees of the Thessaloniki Urban Transport Organization (OASTH) are to walk off the job for the ninth day in a row Tuesday, demanding the payment of months of outstanding wages, and leaving the northern port city without bus services.

In the first four years of its 40-year contract with the Greek state, Fraport Greece is planning to invest a sum of 400 million euros in the 14 regional airports it will take control of next month, according to the investment plan it released on Wednesday. The amount announced is 70 million euros higher than what the contract required.

A worker at a construction site for the Thessaloniki metro was killed on Monday afternoon after the crane he was operating overturned and fell into an underground excavation area.

According to local reports, the worker, whose identity was not immediately disclosed, was aged around 50.

The accident took place at a metro construction site in the Kalamaria area of Thessaloniki.