The initial roadmap for the restoration of the Neoria, the iconic Venetian shipyard buildings in the old port of Chania, was presented by the Municipality at a press conference on Monday 14th April. A specialised company which can cope with the type and the size of the operation will now be sought to bring the project to fruition.

At the press conference it was stated that preparation of the terms of a tender will take at least 6 to 8 months, while following the appointment of a contractor, 2 to 3 years will be needed to complete the work. The director of the Municipality’s Technical Services Giorgos Efthymios explained that once the work has started the time taken for completion will depend on what is found under the Neoria’s floors. The previous Friday, the Finance ministry had announced that the sum of €20,711,095 has been committed to the project.

Addressing the media, the mayor of Chania Panagiotis Simandirakis said that the chosen contractor will have to fulfil certain requirements since “the work concerns a recognised monument, requiring the appropriate prior experience, and the company will also need to be of a certain size, as happened with the Municipal Agora.” He noted that it had taken the Municipality of Chania 40 years to reach this important moment. “Forty years of attempts and failures which have finally had a positive result for one of the most emblematic works not only for the Municipality of Chania but also for Crete.”

The mayor laid emphasis on the extensive collaboration which had culminated in this positive result. He praised in particular the Municipality’s Technical Services and the planning team led by Professor Nikos Skoutelis from the Technical University of Crete. He also thanked by name the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the Chania MPs Dora Bakogianni, Sevi Voloudaki and Alexandros Makrogiannakis for their support, the Finance ministry’s special secretary for ESPA programmes Giorgos Zervos (who comes from Chania) for his decisive contribution in securing the funding, and the head of the managing authority at the ministry of the Environment Nikos Mamalougas, as well as the Culture Minister Lina Mendoni and the head of the Chania Ephorate of Antiquities Eleni Papadopoulou, the Regional Governor for Crete Stavros Arnautakis and the Regional Authority, and the former mayor of Chania Tasos Vamvoukas and his deputies for their role in bringing the plans forward.

Speaking to reporters, the deputy mayor for technical services Michalis Kalogridakis described the renovation as “another major project which after many decades of efforts, both by the Culture Ministry and the Municipality of Chania, we have succeeded in completing the plans for in the space of five years, and in obtaining approval for its financing.”

He thanked the Technical Services, which completed their task despite understaffing, and noted that the mayor “has demonstrated that when major funding is needed, he is able to secure it for the Municipality.” He ended by making special mention of two former employees of the Technical Services who had put a great deal of effort into the project in previous years, the late archaeologist Kostas Psarakis and the recently retired Antonis Milonas. A video of his remarks can be seen here.

The uses of the restored shipyards
The deputy mayor for Culture Giannis Giannakakis in his turn made reference to the future uses of the shipyards following their restoration. “The Venetian Neoria are today taking a decisive step towards their completion,” he said. “Their restoration will create a new cultural focus not only for Chania and Crete but for the whole of the Mediterranean. A space which is unique because of its size, position and possibilities, which will be able promote Chania as a cultural hub, based on the history, the monuments and the human capital of the area.

Mr Giannakakis said that the Neoria will be used for hosting major exhibitions, and for housing permanent exhibitions relating to the buildings’ history, to shipbuilding during the Venetian period and the history of the area. They will also house a permanent theatre, ancillary spaces, toilets and a cafeteria.

As part of the project, the “Neoria Gate” at the bottom of Daskalogiannis street will also be restored. One of the former gates of the Old City, it had been demolished before the 2nd World War to allow vehicle access to the harbour.

(Haniotika Nea, 15/04/25, Municipal press release)