2024-04-11 09:17:54
The mayor of Chios, Polydoros Lambrinoudis, openly accuses his… partner, Deputy Minister of the Environment, of being only interested in his constituency.
“I did not know that Mr. Sifunakis had also been appointed minister of Mytilini. I wish him success in his new duties…” This is how the mayor of Chios Polydoros Lambrinoudis addresses the Deputy Minister of the Environment through “democracy”, directly accusing him of a discriminatory attitude in favor of his island.
Mr. Lambrinoudis, with a long self-governing career (he was, among other things, two four-year prefect of Chios), although he belongs to the same party camp as the deputy minister, does not hesitate to unleash insults against him, finding that the major port upgrade project for Chios is referred on Kalendas.
The last straw came from the recent announcement by Nikos Sifunakis about securing funding of 50,000,000 euros for the Sigri – Kalloni road in Lesvos. “Approximately the same amount of money is needed for the port of Chios, which is from the Turkish occupation” notes Mr. Lambrinoudis, adding that Mr. Sifunakis throughout time and from whatever position he is in is only interested in Lesvos, where he is elected… The mayor emphasizes that the Deputy Minister of Environment does not deal with Chios and sends him the message that “the weather is shooting” calling him at the same time to support the efforts for the port. “Otherwise we don’t need him” he adds just as scathingly!
The port of Chios today is clearly degraded, while it does not have the specifications to receive cruise ships, from which tourists are forced to go down to the island by boat! Justifiably, therefore, the financing of port projects – with priority the construction of a pier for cruise ships – is considered a dominant issue for the place. Mr. Lambrinoudis informs us that the project is technically mature and has been submitted to the Ministry of the Environment to be included in a relevant program.
The operation of the port of Mesto, on the western side of the island, is expected to breathe life into the ferry connection between Chios and mainland Greece. With this port, which the mayor informed us will be completed in two months, Mesta will be only two and a half hours from Lavrio by speedboat. In other words, the communication with Attica is going to be greatly shortened.
In terms of air transport, Polydoros Lambrinoudis states that Chios is an expensive destination – more than 200 euros a time for “Eleftherios Venizelos” – after the “sharing of the pie” by AEGEAN and Olympiaki, which stopped the operation of the competition. In this way, moves are also being made towards other airlines, such as ASTRA, which has a daily route to Thessaloniki, with a cheap ticket through the barren line program, with the result that during last year’s tourist season, several Northern Helladians came to the island. If something similar is implemented for Athens, it is believed that air access will be greatly facilitated. The same applies to the expansion of the airport to the north, for which there is a forced expropriation and by next February the money must be deposited, so that the project deadline is not missed.
Organizationally, the mayor’s task is to set up the structures of the new, Kallikrat Municipality of Chios, which came from the amalgamation of 8 old municipalities and is the only one on the island. As for the financial puzzle, Mr. Lambrinoudis emphasizes the continuous control to contain the expenses of the municipality.
We have announced 35 new jobs
In the field of cleaning, Mr. Lambrinoudis points out the development of two landfills, with the imminent opening of the one in southern Chios. In general, he states that cleanliness and beautification of the island are a challenge for the municipality, taking into account the economic situation. To strengthen the cleaning staff, the recruitment of 35 people, who will replace the same number of contractors, is on the way – the notice has been posted on the Internet.
Another project that the mayor of Chios considers necessary is the anti-flood protection of the city, noting that the severe weather events of last October had caused serious damage.
He also points to the operation of a social grocery store, which is financially supported by the municipality and shipowners’ offers and supplies food to 640 needy people.
Dimitris Kyriakopoulos
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