The Ministry of Culture asserted that the upgraded National Gallery of Art, under renovations and expansion works the last few years, will be inaugurated on March 25, 2021, signalling the beginning of events commemorating the bicentennial of the Greek War of Independence.
Following a meeting chaired by Culture and Sports Minister Lina Mendoni, the ministry issued a statement in which it said the project was on track and "the delays in previous years related to significant lack of planning and coordination, and funding of the project, which needed an additional five million euros."
It said that the amphitheater area and the entrance hall have been completed, while "the next phase involves the floors, the seating and the necessary equipment."
Mendoni requested that processes such as the museological report, the choice of contractor and report implementation, and the tendering processes for transferring the works of art to the new building be abbreviated.
The museum's internal regulations and organizational chart will rely on know-how from the National Museum of Modern Art and the Acropolis Museum, the ministry said, including how a shop will run and the tendering of two restaurants, at the ground level and the third floor, respectively.
The National Gallery of Art upgrade and extension is being funded by the ministry, EU co-funding for the Attica Region, the Stavros Niarchos Foundations and private funds specifically established for the Gallery of Art.