Filenews 22 March 2021
At the beginning of August, the movement of liquid fuel, LPG and asphalt facilities from the larnaca coastal front is expected to be completed, Larnaca Mayor Andreas Vyra said.
He added that "it is very important for the city that we are very close to achieving one of the timeless and strategic goals of the city which is to move the liquid fuel, lpg and asphalt tanks from the coastal front. We are very pleased that the process of dismantling liquid fuel tanks has already begun, for us it is an important day for Larnaca and it fills us with strength to continue the effort to achieve the goal of removing the LPG installations."
The efforts of the Municipality continued "now focus on this goal and we believe that very soon Larnaca will breathe safely first and secondly will open up huge possibilities for the development of this area".
Asked about the restoration of the natural environment of the area with an area of two and a half kilometres, Mr Vyra replied that "initially the dismantling of the tanks should be completed. Already two of the three companies, namely Petrolina and Hellenic Petroleum, operating on the coastal front of Larnaca, have started the removal of their tanks".
He said that "there are justifiable reasons for the third company, ExxonMobil, which has not yet started this process and is expected to take another two to three months. After dismantling, what is important is the restoration of the soil which will naturally depend on the rate of contamination and the movement of the tanks is expected to be moved to extract a final result".
Regarding the development of this area, the Mayor of Larnaca said that "the Area Plan has already been announced and is the first Area Plan in Cyprus, precisely because the movement of tanks and other facilities required huge investments from both the public and the companies. We are trying through urban incentives and through certain public projects, which are expected to change the area and Larnaca in general, to give the opportunity to regain part of the investment and at the same time to develop this very important area for Larnaca".
Asked whether, with the movement of the tanks and the implementation of the project of the single development of a port and marina of Larnaca, the city is now entering a new era, Andreas Vyras replied positively and added that "we are talking about investments of more than one billion euros, which are investments that liberate Larnaca that were limited".
He added that "for years Larnaca had on the one hand the airport, on the other hand the oil facilities and on the third side the salt flats. Now with the liberation of the coastal front from the oil fields, there is now a way out of the city and together with the great investment of the single development of port and marina, Larnaca no longer has to envy in anything from any other city in Cyprus".
In response to another question, Mr. Vyra said that "the removal of the tanks of the company Petrolina and Hellenic Petroleum will be completed in the next three months. However, the movement of ExxonMobil's tanks will take a little longer," he said, noting "in about 4 to 5 months from today there will be no liquid fuel tank in Larnaca".
He noted, however, that "there will only be the removal of liquefied natural gas installations on the coastal front and we will press and hope that this summer will also be the period when these facilities will be moved to the Vasilikos area".
Regarding the asphalt plant, the Mayor said that "there are some storage tanks for the raw material that comes from abroad. The assurance we have from the Minister of Commerce is that the only company left to operate in Larnaca will leave on June 30th when this license expires and then there will be no asphalt facilities on the coastal front of our city."
Source: eyenews/CYPE
