More bumps in the road for Athens mosque

The long-overdue project to provide a place of worship to the Greek capital’s growing Muslim population has been pushed back again, to late October.

The long-overdue project to provide a place of worship to the Greek capital’s growing Muslim population has been pushed back again, to late October.

Ostensibly due to delays in the signing of the contract for complementary construction work at the site in the run-down district of Votanikos, this is the fifth extension to the project’s delivery deadline. 

The Athens mosque contract was signed on October 10, 2016, after several competitions failed to attract any suitors amid restricted but very vocal public opposition to the plan, by a consortium of construction firms Terna, Aktor, Intrakat and J&P Avax. 

The completion date was set for April 2017 and despite there being no visible obstacles to the project’s progress at the state-owned site, it has since been beset by delays of a mainly bureaucratic nature, like the most recent obstacle concerning the area around the main building. 

It is unlikely, however, that the October deadline will be met either, as there will still be a lot of work to be done once construction is finished to complete the 850-square meter facility’s interior areas and furnish it with all the necessary fittings.