Ministry announces list of 17 new waste management facilities in Greece - Corfu not on the list!
waste management
31 Dec 2019
/ 10:17
ATHENS. The announcement came after yesterday΄s meeting at the Ministry for Environment & Energy chaired by the Minister Kostis Hadjidakis - with no mention of the invitation for tenders for Corfu Waste Management facility.
Also present at the meeting were the General Secretary for waste management Manolis Grafakos, the General Secretary for Structural Funds at the Ministry for Development & Investment Niki Dandolou and representatives from the Solid Waste Management Organisations and project studies from the 17 Greek regions involved.
Kostis Hadjidakis: "The aim is to put the 17 units out to tender"
In the press release following the meeting the Ministry listed the 17 areas where Waste Management Facilities will be put out to tender. Corfu is conspicuous by its absence.
The 17 listed areas:
- West Thessaloniki
- Patras
- Volos
- Lamia
- North Evros
- Lesvos
- Halkida
- Larissa
- Heraklion
- Agrinio
- Sitia
- Hersonissos
- Mykonos
- Fokida
- Andros
- Tinos
- Cephalonia
The Ministry press release said: "The purpose of the meeting was to speed up the approval procedure for funding, licensing and invitations for tender for Waste Management Units and to deal with any bureaucratic problems. The representatives from the organisations reported on progress and submitted any specific requests to the Ministry.
Mr. Hadjidakis told those present at the meeting: "Integrated waste management is a national priority and cannot be delayed. We need to roll up our sleeves and work systematically in order to achieve immediate results. There are many who say, 'We mustn't lose the EU funds,' whilst others say 'We mustn't pay any more fines'. Personally, I don't place as much importance on that as I do on the fact that waste management is a matter of national pride, public health and Civilisation. It will be a great achievement for all of us for the tenders for these units to go out and for the conditions in each of these areas to change. We have to move forward everywhere. This is a matter of what kind of country we are and what kind of country we want to become!"
At the moment only four modern waste management units exist in the country - in Kozani, Serres, Ioannina and Chania - along with 2 outdated units needing renovation in Attica (Fili) and Crete (Heraklion).
Mr. Grafakos stressed that all the procedures need to be speeded up so that by the end of 2020 all 17 units will have been tendered out with funding of over 400m Euros and Ms. Dandolou emphasised that the opportunity to absorb EU funding must not be lost as this is" the last chance for urban waste".
Corfu nowhere to be seen!
According to Mayor Meropi Ydraiou, the documentation for the invitation for tenders is ready and at the beginning of 2020 the project will be put out to tender. The omission of Corfu from the list raises serious questions. Is it really possible that Messrs Hadjidakis and Grafakos 'forgot' to mention the waste problem in Corfu, which they have spent so much time on even in individual meetings with Corfu organisations and bodies?
Kostis Hadjidakis: "The aim is to put the 17 units out to tender"
In the press release following the meeting the Ministry listed the 17 areas where Waste Management Facilities will be put out to tender. Corfu is conspicuous by its absence.
The 17 listed areas:
- West Thessaloniki
- Patras
- Volos
- Lamia
- North Evros
- Lesvos
- Halkida
- Larissa
- Heraklion
- Agrinio
- Sitia
- Hersonissos
- Mykonos
- Fokida
- Andros
- Tinos
- Cephalonia
The Ministry press release said: "The purpose of the meeting was to speed up the approval procedure for funding, licensing and invitations for tender for Waste Management Units and to deal with any bureaucratic problems. The representatives from the organisations reported on progress and submitted any specific requests to the Ministry.
Mr. Hadjidakis told those present at the meeting: "Integrated waste management is a national priority and cannot be delayed. We need to roll up our sleeves and work systematically in order to achieve immediate results. There are many who say, 'We mustn't lose the EU funds,' whilst others say 'We mustn't pay any more fines'. Personally, I don't place as much importance on that as I do on the fact that waste management is a matter of national pride, public health and Civilisation. It will be a great achievement for all of us for the tenders for these units to go out and for the conditions in each of these areas to change. We have to move forward everywhere. This is a matter of what kind of country we are and what kind of country we want to become!"
At the moment only four modern waste management units exist in the country - in Kozani, Serres, Ioannina and Chania - along with 2 outdated units needing renovation in Attica (Fili) and Crete (Heraklion).
Mr. Grafakos stressed that all the procedures need to be speeded up so that by the end of 2020 all 17 units will have been tendered out with funding of over 400m Euros and Ms. Dandolou emphasised that the opportunity to absorb EU funding must not be lost as this is" the last chance for urban waste".
Corfu nowhere to be seen!
According to Mayor Meropi Ydraiou, the documentation for the invitation for tenders is ready and at the beginning of 2020 the project will be put out to tender. The omission of Corfu from the list raises serious questions. Is it really possible that Messrs Hadjidakis and Grafakos 'forgot' to mention the waste problem in Corfu, which they have spent so much time on even in individual meetings with Corfu organisations and bodies?
