Residents of the Athens neighborhood of Kypseli are raising alarm over what they describe as serious damage to homes and infrastructure caused by ongoing Metro construction works, warning that they “will not pay for the Metro with their lives.”
In a public statement, residents claim that excavation work carried out by the tunnel-boring machine has left buildings with widening cracks, warped doors and windows, collapsing walls and water leaking into basements. They say the problems have affected streets between Kypseli Square and the Evelpidon area, where the tunneling operation has since been halted.
According to the residents, living through the construction felt like “an earthquake that never ends.” Some people reportedly had to be evacuated from their homes, while others temporarily or permanently left the area due to safety concerns.
Concerns Over Building Safety
Residents argue that the issue extends far beyond cosmetic damage, saying ongoing ground subsidence has raised fears about the structural integrity of decades-old buildings. They also claim that schools and other public buildings in the neighborhood have been affected.
The residents’ initiative says the state-owned Metro company acknowledged in a communication with the construction consortium that the problems were linked to “adverse geological conditions,” describing them as a foreseeable technical risk rather than the result of negligence.
However, residents state they have not been given access to the engineering measurements collected during the project, after being told the data forms part of an ongoing scientific assessment.
Dispute Over Repairs
The construction consortium, according to residents, offered to carry out minor repairs to damaged properties while asking homeowners to sign documents stating they had no further claims.
Residents argue that accepting such repairs could undermine future structural assessments by engineers and obscure the full extent of the damage.
They also claim repeated requests for access to monitoring data collected before and during construction have been rejected, preventing independent experts from determining whether the ground movement has stabilized.
Residents Face Additional Costs
Residents say they have had to hire private engineers and technical consultants at their own expense to assess damage to their properties.
According to the group, local planning authorities advised property owners in writing to arrange structural inspections themselves and evacuate buildings deemed unsafe. If residents failed to do so, authorities warned that police assistance could be used to enforce evacuations.
The residents say this approach places an unfair burden on those affected and leaves them facing uncertainty about the safety of their homes.
Calls for Transparency
The residents insist they are not opposed to the Metro project itself but want it carried out with greater transparency and scientific accountability.
They accuse the Metro operator and the construction consortium of refusing to release key data, including measurements taken before and after tunneling began and records documenting reported damage.
According to the residents’ statement, no official explanation has yet addressed their concerns, leaving many in the neighborhood uncertain about the safety of their buildings and the long-term impact of the construction works.
