Water Supply General Secretary speaks to Enimerosi: The aim is not to lose any more time
CORFU. Just as in the Iliad the cause of the quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon was the fate of the female war spoils, Chryseis and Briseis, so too in the case of the water facility here in our own affairs, the inter-ministerial committee — without the participation of the ministry that actually includes this specific water supply project in its department programme — is likely to cause some concern, despite the triumphant announcements.
“Don’t be so sure that desalination will be necessary,” commented the Secretary General for Natural Environment and Water of the Ministry of Environment and Energy, P. Varelidis, in response to our question yesterday, regarding the project in Chrysiida. The investment amounts to around €22 million, and as already announced, funding will come from the Ministries of Environment & Energy and National Economy & Finance.
As for the governing body, since the aim is to avoid restarting the project from scratch — which would cause further delays — according to the Secretary General, a programmatic agreement will be sought between the central municipality and the regional government. The project’s scope will remain unchanged (Note: Even though with the potential addition of a desalination unit, along with the pipeline and construction of a reservoir, the scope of the project, which was originally tendered by the Ministry of Infrastructure, is now significantly expanded).
Despite the triumphant statements by Corfu ND MP Stefanos Gikas and Regional Governor Yiannis Trepeklis, there still remains a mystery as to how the Ministry of Infrastructure managed to tender and contract out a project that had no allocated funds! A reasonable explanation could be that the emergency financial strain caused by the floods in Thessaly stripped other projects of their funding. However, no official announcement has been made to that effect… (Note: Let’s not forget that this is how it is said that national funding was also lost — the co-financing share — for the major water project [dams] in Corfu).
Also puzzling is the fact that, although the project is now to be funded through the department programmes of other ministries, it remains under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Infrastructure, which notably did not bother to attend last Friday’s inter-ministerial meeting — a fact that was highlighted during the session.
In any case, having a positive spirit is important, especially since the overall project includes restoring the integrity of the pipeline that will bring up to 10,000 cubic metres per day from Chrysiida to the town — an intervention that could alleviate the town’s water needs.
In his announcement yesterday, the Regional Governor noted:
“Following a related initiative by the Ionian Islands Regional Governor, Yiannis Trepeklis, and after his letter to the Prime Minister, the inter-ministerial meeting reached a unanimous decision. This is not a project we can implement at our leisure. The need now concerns not only quality, but also quantity. We are fortunate that a contractor has already been selected — something we must take advantage of, because if the tender process were cancelled, we would be going back to square one.”
Meanwhile, on the same matter, the Deputy Minister of Shipping said last Friday:
“Carrying out Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ directive for the advancement of this particular project, and responding to the invitation from the Prime Minister’s Office, all relevant data were reviewed regarding the construction of a Water Softening and Desalination Plant in Chrysiida, Corfu, under the new conditions imposed by the climate crisis.”
GIORGOS KATSAITIS
