Greek minister questions wisdom of holding the Olympics in Athens
Greece's public works minister yesterday for the first time publicly expressed doubts about the wisdom of hosting this year's Athens Olympic Games, in the face of cost overruns of as much as �2bn ($2.4bn) on an original budget of �4.6bn.
George Souflias told a parliamentary committee: "I have to question whether our country should have undertaken the organisation of the games."
His statement comes less than 10 weeks before the opening ceremony on August 13 and amid growing anxiety over whether Athens can deliver a successful event.
Figures presented yesterday to a parliamentary committee show the �1.1bn budget for constructing and refurbishing sports facilities has already been exceeded by �500m. The security budget has risen from �650m to �1.2bn because of the increased threat of terrorist attack.
Greeks hailed as a triumph the decision in 1997 by the International Olympic Committee to return this year's games to their birthplace.
But the burden of financing the Olympics has already pushed Greece's budget deficit above the ceiling permitted under the eurozone's stability and growth pact. The deficit is this year projected to reach 3.2 per cent of gross domestic product for the second successive year.
The total cost overrun is likely to rise to �2bn when the additional costs of building a new suburban rail line and tram system for Athens are included.
Greece's previous Socialist government decided to finance the Athens games entirely out of the public investment budget after an initial plan to involve private sector finance met with political opposition.
The dispute over funding resulted in significant delays in launching tenders for games- related projects. Construction of new sports stadiums, the Olympic villages and media facilities started in 2001, four years after Athens was chosen as the host city.
Greece agreed with the IOC to build more than 35 Olympic venues with the aim of providing sports and leisure facilities for low-income neighbourhoods after the games.
The biggest cost overruns involve showpiece projects designed by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava - a glass-and-metal canopy for the main athletics stadium, a smaller canopy for the velodrome and an ambitious landscaping plan for the main sports complex.
希腊部长质疑雅典奥运会
希腊公共工程部部长昨天对主办今年雅典奥运会是否明智一事，首次公开提出质疑。原因在于成本比原先46亿欧元预算超支20亿欧元(合24亿美元)。
公共工程部部长乔治o苏夫利斯(George Souflias)告诉议会某委员会："我必须对我国是否应该承担奥运会的组织工作提出疑问。"
他的讲话离8月3日奥运会开幕式只有不到10周的时间，并且此刻外界担忧日益增加，不知雅典是否能承办一届成功的盛会。
昨天向一个议会委员会提交的数据显示，11亿欧元的体育设施建筑和翻新预算，已经超支5亿欧元。因为恐怖袭击威胁日益增加，安全预算已从6.5亿欧元上升至12亿欧元。
国际奥委会在1997年作出决定，让今年的奥运会回到它的诞生地。希腊当时欢呼雀跃，认为这是一次胜利。
但奥运会融资的重担已使希腊的预算赤字超过了欧元区稳定与增长公约所允许的上限。今年的赤字预计将连续第二年达到国内生产总值的3.2%。
如把建造新的郊区铁路线和有轨电车系统的额外成本包括在内，超支总成本可能升至20亿欧元。
在包含私人领域融资的最初计划遭到其他政党反对后，希腊上一届社会党政府决定，完全用公共投资预算为雅典奥运会进行融资。
对融资的争议导致奥运会相关项目的投标大大延迟。新体育场馆、奥林匹克村和媒体设施的建设于2001年开工，这时已是雅典被选为主办城市之后四年了。
希腊与国际奥委会达成协议，奥运会赛事后，所建设的35%以上奥运场馆，将成为低收入街坊的体育和休闲设施。
最大成本超支项目包括西班牙建筑师桑迪亚戈o卡拉特拉瓦(Santiago Calatrava)设计的精品工程，即主田径馆的玻璃和金属天蓬、一个小一点的室内自行车馆天蓬，以及主要体育综合建筑一处宏大的景观计划。
