Leros Presents Infrastructure Programme Worth About €50m

The large project programme currently underway in Leros was presented by Mayor Timotheus Kottakis to the Ministers of Environment and Energy Stavros Papastavrou and Migration and Asylum Thanos Plevris, during a meeting at the City Hall. Present were the Protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Throne, Hierarchical Commissioner of Leros Fr Nikodimos Fokas, MPs Giannis Pappas and Mika Iatridis, government officials, municipal councilors and representatives of local bodies.

The mayor of Leros presented in detail the funding and the progress of the interventions, pointing out that in the last three years infrastructure projects totaling approximately 50 million euros have been launched in Leros. He thanked the government, the Dodecanese MPs and the South Aegean Region, making special reference to the cooperation with the regional governor Giorgos Chatzimarkos.

"Infrastructure projects are the most democratic projects, because they are used by those who voted for us, by those who did not vote for us, and by the next generations," said theTimotheus Kottakis.

In the environment sector, the construction of the new Sanitary Waste Landfill and the Bio-Waste Processing Unit was presented. According to the mayor, the project, with a budget of 4.336 million euros, is approximately 60% complete.

A focal point of the presentation was the treatment of water scarcity. The relevant programme forMunicipality of Leros, amounting to 5,277,750 euros, provides for two new desalination units, with a budget of 2,427,750 euros, and the construction of new water transport pipelines 17.4 kilometres long, costing 2.85 million euros.

Together with the waste management project, the total funding of the Ministry of Environment and Energy in Leros amounts to 9,613,750 euros. The tender for the water infrastructure is said to be moving to pre-contractual review, with the aim of installing a contractor in early February and completing the project within the next 14 months or so.

Then the projects financed by the Ministry of Immigration and Asylum were presented. These include the repair and modernization of the existing desalination units, a project of approximately €697,000 that has been completed, as well as the restoration of the CHADA, budgeted at €936,000.

For the latter project, five bids were submitted and the discount reached 30.2%, while the restoration is expected to be completed in six months from the installation of the contractor.

New roads in 43 kilometres of Leros – Financing 4.9 million euros

Particular emphasis was given to the improvement of the road network. The financing amounts to 4.914 million euros and concerns interventions in approximately 43 kilometres of roads, with asphalt pavements, cement pavements and the installation of autonomous lighting in selected places.

Also presented was the construction of a drainage network with a total length of approximately eight kilometres, which will connect the reception structure to the central system, as well as the change of the entry and exit route of the migrants, a project worth 730,000 euros aimed at decongesting the Parthenio.

The same financial package also includes nine playgrounds, seven small autonomous desalination units, school infrastructure, outdoor sports equipment and the supply of a vehicle for the needs of the Municipality's hydraulic workshops. Mr. Kottakis stated that the total funding from the Ministry of Immigration and Asylum from the beginning of 2024 exceeds 18 million euros.

The Municipality is proceeding at the same time with the recruitment of five engineers and an administrative and financial subject employee, so that, as the mayor explained, the projects are implemented with proper supervision and the required quality.

Thanos Pleuris announced a plan to decongest Leros

The Minister of Immigration and Asylum Thanos Pleuris acknowledged that Leros has borne a disproportionate burden in terms of immigration. He emphasized that the presence of approximately 2,000 immigrants on an island of 8,000 inhabitants causes real pressure and called the concerns of the local community justified.

The Minister of Immigration and Asylum announced that a rapid decongestion plan is underway, in collaboration with the administration of the structure. He also referred to the creation of separate spaces for those who have received a negative decision in the second instance.

He estimated that within the next month, as the seasonal migration flows will also be reduced, the number of residents will return close to the level of 1,000 people.

Papastavrou on Kottaki: "He brings mature and documented studies"

For his part, the Minister of Environment and Energy, Stavros Papastavrou, presented the new possibilities created by the Island Decarbonization Fund. As he mentioned, the €2.3 billion programme was approved in August specifically for Greece and is expected to be activated in 2027.

About one billion euros will be directed to electrical infrastructure and interconnections concerning Leros as well, while an additional 1.2 billion euros is earmarked for projects on the islands, such as energy storage systems, batteries, photovoltaics, dams, charging stations and electric municipal vehicles.

The Minister of Environment and Energy attributed the significant funding to the readiness of the Municipality. As he said, Timotheus Kottakis submits mature and documented studies with realistic budgets, an element that allows the projects to be financed and proceed without major delays.

At the end of the meeting, reference was made to two interventions of religious interest: the study to improve access to the islet of Agia Kyriaki and the study to restore the dangerous wall under the Old Metropolis. When the studies are completed, the necessary resources will be sought for the construction of the projects.

Photo & Video: Giorgos Palapougiouk

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