Let΄s see - will there be flooding again with the first rains or not?
CORFU. No one knows when the sewer project in Spilia will be completed. Because of the delays, the area floods whenever the first rains arrive.
If the rain that recently fell in Ioannina had fallen here as well, we would already be seeing the yearly flooding phenomena, especially in the Spilia area. This is because the drainage works there have been pending since the ice melted. The fact that manholes behind the Regional offices overflow with sewage in such cases also reveals the true nature of the problem, which has turned into a ‘Bridge of Arta’ situation ( a project that drags on endlessly without completion).
It is precisely for this reason that the project for completing the yacht marina there has already been granted at least four extensions. What remains is the hydraulic study and its implementation, which will separate sewage from rainwater: the former will be directed to the Biological Treatment Plant, while rainwater will spill into Café Gyali.
The Deputy Minister of Shipping, Stefanos Gikas, recently announced that the works will be completed by the end of the year (editor’s note: meaning the place will flood again with the first autumn rains). "We are optimistic that, especially the port project, will be completed by the end of the year. At the same time, the drainage pipeline project in Spilia is also expected to move forward, naturally in cooperation with the Ionian Islands Regional Authority, which oversees the entire project."
This estimate goes beyond the timeline set in the most recent extension decision, which foresaw completion by the end of September. In the justification for the 4th and 5th extensions (until 30/9/2025), it is explicitly stated that the delays are due to ‘outstanding issues with the hydraulic study and adjustments to the sewerage/flood protection network.’
And no, the expected resolution of the problem there has nothing to do with the Kampiellos pipeline, which ends at the Despotiko area; that remains a separate stormwater network for the old town, with its own chronic issues (illegal sewage connections, overflows, and the discharge of untreated water into the sea).
For the record, the budget for the sewerage sub-project at Café Gyali amounts to about 700,000 euros.
GIORGOS KATSAITIS
