The Minister of Environment and Energy Stavros Papastavrou visited the Municipality of Megara today, two weeks after the inspection of works in Porto Germeno of the Municipality of Mandra - Eidyllia, in order to be informed about the anti-erosion and flood protection works already underway for the protection and restoration of the forest areas affected by this summer’s wildfire.
During the on-site visit, the minister was briefed on the overall progress of the restoration program being developed in parallel in the fire-affected areas of Western Attica and Thebes, in the areas under the jurisdiction of the forest offices of Megara, Aigaleo and Thebes.
The interventions where Mr. Papastavrou was present today, covering a total of 5,276.4 stremmas, aim at the rapid stabilization of soils, the retention of soil and transported material, the limitation of erosion and the reduction of post-fire hydrological risks.
The minister was accompanied in the areas where the works are being carried out by the Secretary General of Forests Stathis Stathopoulos and the head of the General Directorate of Forests and Forest Environment Evangelos Gkountoufas.
Present during the visit were the Members of Parliament for Western Attica Thanasis Bouras and Vangelis Liakos, the Mayor of Megara Panagiotis Margetis, the Deputy Regional Governor of Attica Athanasia Papaspyrou, the Inspector of Forest Policy of Attica Athanasios Reppas and officials from the Forest Office of Megara and the Directorate of Western Attica.
Also participating in the on-site visit was the CEO of HELLENiQ ENERGY Andreas Siamisiis. HELLENiQ PETROLEUM has been designated Restoration Contractor for the areas under the jurisdiction of the forest offices of Megara and Thebes, financing the preparation of the required studies and the execution of anti-erosion and small-scale flood protection works, with an initial budget of 3 million euros (excluding VAT).
It is noted that HELLENiQ PETROLEUM has also undertaken the restoration of fire-affected areas in the area under the jurisdiction of the Aigaleo Forest Office, within the Municipality of Mandra – Eidyllia, with an additional budget of 1.5 million euros (excluding VAT), raising the company’s total financial contribution to 4.5 million euros (excluding VAT).
Parallel interventions in 3 areas
In the areas under the jurisdiction of the forest offices of Megara, Aigaleo and Thebes, the interventions cover a total of 8,837 stremmas of fire-affected land.
The largest part of the works is being developed in the area of the Megara Forest Office, over 5,276.4 stremmas in the municipalities of Megara and Mandra - Eidyllia, including, among others, Alepochori, Psatha, Palaiochori, Mytikas and Agios Georgios, with interventions in 23 streams and the participation of 9 Forest Work Cooperatives, which, across the entire intervention area, reach 21 Forest Cooperatives from all over the country.
In the area under the jurisdiction of the Aigaleo Forest Office, within the Municipality of Mandra - Eidyllia, the works cover 3,256 stremmas, while in the area of the Thebes Forest Office they extend over 304.7 stremmas, in the wider area of Kalamaki and Agios Vasileios.
Overall, the construction of approximately 515 km of log barriers, 267 km of branch barriers, 2,894 sq.m. of wooden check dams and 57.6 km of plank walls is planned.
Stavros Papastavrou stated: “We are in Megara today, in an area where the interventions cover more than 5,000 stremmas and 23 streams. After the devastating summer fire, we committed that we would act immediately and effectively so that interventions would be carried out with the aim of protecting citizens’ lives, their property and the environment.
We are putting our commitment to the protection of Western Attica into practice, and this happened because we joined forces. With the area’s MPs, with the mayors, the Region and civil society. And of course this would not have been possible if there had not been the institution of the private contractor established by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and if HELLENiQ ENERGY, which is with us today, had not made the generous offer to cover an amount of 4.5 million euros, so that the studies could proceed quickly and effectively, always under the guidance of the Forest Service.
I would like to thank everyone, local government, civil society, the General Secretariat of Forests, the General Directorate of Forests, the Forest Service, which all summer long worked with HELLENiQ ENERGY on the studies, and of course HELLENiQ ENERGY for its help. We are all working together and responding to our duty, which is the protection of citizens”.
Andreas Siamisiis stated: “I would like to thank everyone who has been involved in this process. The cooperation we had with the ministry, the Region, the municipalities, with all the bodies, was excellent. I would like to single out the Forest Service, which was always ahead of the needs. In early October, within a very short period of time, within weeks, practically, studies were implemented and it has also started within a few weeks as the process unfolded.
Western Attica is our home for a large part of our activities and this constitutes a small part of the initiatives we undertake. In recent years, unfortunately, we have had to help and support more than 30,000 stremmas of works for problems of this kind. And of course, we are here. We hope not to be needed, but we are always by the side of local communities”.
The Mayor of Megara, Panagiotis Margetis, stated: “I too would like, in turn, to thank all the bodies involved, the minister, the prime minister, HELLENiQ ENERGY for the donation, the Forest Service because it truly moved quickly so that all the procedures that were needed could be completed in order to protect people’s lives, their properties, so that we can mitigate the consequences of the devastating wildfires. I would truly like to thank everyone for your contribution and participation, and the Region of Attica, so that next time we may be here for pleasant matters, for development projects and not for this kind of natural disaster response works”.
Athanasia Papaspyrou stated: “We are pleased to welcome the minister for the second time after Porto Germeno, and his presence here marks the start of the flood protection and anti-erosion works in Megara. Truly, we thank HELLENiQ ENERGY from the bottom of our hearts for its valuable participation and contribution at this stage, and the Forest Service, which moved the procedures very quickly so that we could have the result. The timeframe for the whole process was within three months and, from what we were told today, it will probably be completed within one month”.