The Notre-Dame de Paris, also called Notre-Dame Cathedral, is now expected to reopen to the public in 2024.
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French Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak said the cleanup phase of the restoration project has concluded. This will allow rebuilding to finally start at the end of the summer.
“We are confident that 2024 will be the year a large part of this work is completed. The year of the reopening of the cathedral to worshippers and to the public,” Abdul Malak said.
Notre Dame is the most popular of the Gothic cathedrals from the Middle Ages.
Blaze struck the structure in April 2019, destroying most of its roof, Viollet-le-Duc’s 19th-century spire, and some of the rib vaulting.
Since the fire, the cathedral has been closed for restoration.
President Emmanuel Macron earlier promised to reopen Notre Dame by 2024 when France will host the Olympics.
Stakeholders will restore the cathedral to its previous design, including the 96-meter spire that Eugene Viollet-le-Duc designed in the 1800s.
The safety phase concluded in 2021, while the cleanup of the cathedral’s interior finished this year.
Next, reconstruction will involve rebuilding the wooden roof structure, the vaults, and the spire, among other details.
