Athens News Agency: News in English, 01-12-19

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Greek tourism to focus on link with the arts

[02] Aktor consortium wins airport railway project

[03] Foreign Exchange Rates - Thursday

[04] Athens Bourse Close: Stocks rise, fuelled by telecoms

[05] Weather Forecast: Scattered cloud on Thursday

[06] Tram line construction to begin in late Jan.

[01] Greek tourism to focus on link with the arts

The newly appointed head of the Greek National Tourism Organisation (GNTO), Yiannis Patelis, said on Wednesday that linking tourism to culture would be one of his top priorities.

A drive being prepared by the GNTO would include linking all forms of culture in a bid to attract visitors with an interest in the arts, Patelis told a book presentation at the National Art Gallery in Athens.

Included would be a focus on the contemporary arts in Greece in a programme that would culminate with the Athens 2004 Olympics, he added.

[02] Aktor consortium wins airport railway project

A consortium led by Athens-quoted engineering contractor Aktor was named the winner on Wednesday of a government tender for construction of a suburban railway to Athens airport from the Aharnon railway centre.

The stretch of railway, which is budgeted at 30 billion drachmas, will help to handle increased passenger movement in the 2004 Athens Olympics, beyond easing daily travel for commuters.

Handling the project is Ergose, the projects subsidiary of state owned Hellenic Railways Organisation.

The five shortlisted engineering contractors were Hochtief AG, which built the airport; Terna, GEK and Impregilo Spa; Astaldi; AEGEK with Evklidis, ETEP and Meton; and the consortium led by Aktor, which also includes Hellenic Technodomiki and TEB.

[03] Foreign Exchange Rates - Thursday

Indicative tourist buying rates

U.S. dollar 376.311

German mark 172.829

French franc 051.531

Pound sterling 545.461

Irish punt 429.202

Belgian franc 008.379

Luxembourg franc 008.379

Dutch guilder 153.389

Italian lira (100) 017.457

Austrian schilling 024.565

Danish kroner 045.437

Swedish kroner 035.570

Finnish mark 056.852

Spanish peseta 002.032

Portuguese escudo 001.686

Japanese yen (100) 294.766

Swiss franc 229.414

Norwegian kroner 042.356

Cyprus pound 587.348

Canadian dollar 238.570

Australian dollar 193.542

[04] Athens Bourse Close: Stocks rise, fuelled by telecoms

The Athens bourse finished higher on Wednesday in brisk trade with buyers scooping up telecom stocks.

The general share index gained 1.29 percent to end at 2,611.30 points. Turnover was 166.4 million euros.

The FTSE/ASE-20 index for blue chip and heavily traded stocks ended 1.22 percent up; the FTSE/ASE-40 for medium capitalisation paper 0.99 percent higher; and the FTSE/ASE-80 for small cap equities 0.94 percent up.

Of stocks traded, advances led declines at 263 to 71 with 54 issues remaining unchanged.

[05] Weather Forecast: Scattered cloud on Thursday

Light cloud is forecast throughout the country on Thursday, turning overcast in the west. Winds northwesterly, moderate. In the north, temperatures will range from -14C to 3C; on the rest of the mainland from -7C to 9C; and in the islands from 1C to 11C. Mostly sunny in Athens with temperatures between 1C and 9C. Light cloud in Thessaloniki, with temperatures from -5C to 3C.

[06] Tram line construction to begin in late Jan.

Construction of a long-anticipated tram network in the greater Athens area, one of a handful of high-profile mass transportation projects related to the 2004 Athens Olympics, will reportedly get underway late next month.

The transport ministry announced on Tuesday that eight worksites will be set up along the two proposed tram routes, 14 and 15.5 kilometres, respectively.

According to the governments deadline, the 115.52-billion-drachma (?339 million) project should be completed by early 2004.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) announced last month that it will provide 34 billion drachmas in the form of long-term loans for the two lines construction.

The ground-level tram network is expected to complement the new Athens metro system by easing the Greek capitals notorious traffic congestion, especially in the southern districts where the two lines are destined to run. Peak-hour travellers are expected to total 2,500 passengers in each direction.

Terna SA with Impregilo were declared the winners last month of a tender for construction of the two tramlines.

One line will link Zappeion Hall in downtown Athens (next to Parliament) to the districts of Neos Kosmos and further south towards the coast with the Paleo Faliro and Neo Faliro inner-city municipalities. The other line will run between Neo Faliro, Paleo Faliro, Aghios Kosmas and Glyfada, a route parallel to a coastal highway that also connects three 2004 Olympics complexes.

Tram SA, a subsidiary of Attiko Metro, will operate the new network.

One future target is for a tram network covering 100 kilometres in the greater Athens area.

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