Phase 1 of the Larnaca Sewerage System enters the implementation track after the completion of the studies, the environmental licensing procedures and the preparation and approval of the tender documents.
At a press conference held on Tuesday at the Creativity and Culture Centre in Larnaca, the President of the Larnaca Sewerage Board (LSC), Larnaca Mayor Andreas Vyras, the Director General of the LSC Angelos Hadjiharalambous and the Director of the Water Development Department Panagiota Hadjigeorgiou gave the details of the project.
In his speech, Director General of SAL Angelos Hadjiharalambous said that "Phase C1 concerns the construction of a sewerage system in the Municipality of Dromolaxia - Meneos and the Communities of Kition, Pervolion and Tercefano, consisting of five construction contracts at an estimated cost of approximately 70 million euros, plus VAT. The project briefly includes the construction of 190 km of pipelines and 12 wastewater pumping stations."
He added that "according to the planning of the PPA, the project will be implemented through the award of 5 construction contracts (4 for the networks and 1 for the pumping stations), the tendering of which will take place successively from the end of May 2022 to the beginning of July 2022 for the projects of the Municipality of Dromolaxia Meneou and the Communities of Kition and Pervolia. At the beginning of 2023 the tendering for the project of the Community of Tercefano will take place, while the entire project of Phase C1 is expected to be completed in the first half of 2026."
According to Mr.Hadjicharalambous, "the project will be constructed with co-financing from the European Union, through the Cohesion Policy Programme "TH.AL.E.I.A. 2021-2027", state subsidy and own resources of SAL. The project will contribute to improving the quality of life of citizens, ensuring public health, environmental protection and the socio-economic development of settlements" he said and noted that "with the implementation of the project Cyprus will comply with the European Legislation (Directive 91/271 as in force), as well as with the sustainable development goals of the UN Agenda 2030, to which the Republic of Cyprus is a signatory and participant".
For her part, the Director of the Water Department Panagiota Hadjigeorgiou said that "the Waste Water Authority is the central state body for the monitoring/implementation of the implementation programme of Directive 91/271/EEC on urban waste water as well as for informing the European Union. According to the Directive, Cyprus as an EU Member State has to collect and treat urban waste water generated in settlements with a population of at least two thousand people."
He added that "one of the important projects that has been wheeled for implementation is the Phase C1 project of the Sewage Treatment Plant which includes the installation of wastewater treatment systems in the municipality of Dromolaxia - Meneos and in the communities of Kiti and Pervolia which fall under the Directive's implementation programme with a population of more than two thousand people. It also includes the community of Tersefanou following the decision of the Council of Ministers dated 8 January 2020, according to which the boundaries of the Larnaca Drainage Area were extended to include Tersefanou as a compensatory measure for the construction of a dam on the territory of the community for the storage of the tertiary treated water to be produced by the Larnaca Wastewater Treatment Plant".
According to Ms. Hadjigeorgiou, "the successful completion of the project is expected to have a positive impact on the wider area as the wastewater will be managed in a rational and sustainable manner and the risk of pollution of the subsoil, groundwater and coastal zone from the use of septic/absorption pits will be eliminated. At the same time, the creation of a centralised sewerage system for the transfer of wastewater to the Larnaca Wastewater Treatment Plant, where, with appropriate treatment, high quality reclaimed water will be produced for use in agriculture, will contribute to strengthening the water balance by replacing equal quantities of fresh water from the dams for other uses, thus reducing the requirement for desalinated water."
Ms. Hadjigeorgiou also noted that "the implementation of the Larnaca Sewerage System Phase C1 project remains a matter of utmost importance for the Republic of Cyprus".
In his address, the President of the Larnaca Sewerage Board, Mayor of Larnaca Andreas Vyras said that "one of the greatest achievements of the SA is that it is now an organisation that can successfully carry out large projects, in a timely manner and in compliance with all procedures. 98% of the second phase concerning the city of Larnaca and some areas around the city, such as Aradippou and Oroklini, are 98% connected to the system and a small percentage remained, concerning areas where antiquities were identified in the city centre and in the parish of Soteros."
Vyras also referred to "flood protection works in and around Larnaca, on which several million euros have been spent in the last five years. The two pumping stations that have been built, costing several million euros, have given a substantial respite to the flooding issue, which was one of the biggest problems facing Larnaca."
He also said that "12.5 million euros have already been secured from the Recovery Fund for new flood protection projects in Larnaca province, with the two largest of them already mature and we will soon go out to tender for their construction. We will also soon go out to tender for Contract C12, i.e. in the centre of Larnaca, where anti-flooding works will be carried out, while studies are being carried out for areas that did not have a stormwater system, namely Kalifatzia, Agios Lazaros the commercial centre of Larnaca and Grigori Afxentiou Avenue."
Source: KYPE
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