Residents of nine communities in the Vasiliko area staged a protest on Monday and warned they would step up measures unless plans to relocate asphalt plants to the Kalavasos industrial areas are scrapped.
The residents blocked the entrance to the energy centre at Vasiliko, holding placards reading “no more factories in our area”.
They say that the area is already overburdened with heavy industry that poses health risks to inhabitants.
Community leader of Kalavasos and president of the coordinating committee for the nine communities Lefteris Fokas told CyBC that residents would take legal action to avert the relocation of the asphalt plants.
He added that residents have also abandoned consultations with authorities because they because these were going nowhere.
The asphalt plants, which were originally located in the industrial areas of Geri and Tseri, are set to be relocated to Vasiliko in the next three months as a result of a decision prohibiting their operation in the Nicosia communities.
The communities have held several protests over the past months to underline their refusal to accept the plants in their area.
Vasiliko already hosts fuel terminals, the island’s largest power station, a cement factory, and will also have the energy hub. A waste management plant is also located in the wider area.
Citing the 2011 accident in Mari, Fokas has argued in the past that placing all of the island’s energy sources in one place is dangerous, as an accident or sabotage could paralyse the entire republic’s energy supply once more.
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