Filenews 8 July 2021 - by Vasos Vassiliou
The suffering of road users from Paphos-Polis is prolonged, following the decision of the Bid Review Authority to cancel the offer announced by the Department of Public Works to repair the landslide that occurred in the community of Giolou in January 2020, following severe weather events.
It is noted that about 6,000 vehicles pass through the road every day, doubling in the week of August 15th.
At best the offer will be awarded in about a month, unless another company lodges an appeal, when the start of operations will be extended for months. But even if everything goes according to plan and the processes are completed in a month, we will enter August, when everything in the construction industry closes which will lead to the start of work in September. The Director of Public Works, Antonis Koutsoulis, told "F" that an effort would be made to complete the procedures as soon as possible. The matter will be brought before the Evaluation Committee and then to the Oral Council for a new decision.
The whole project is estimated to take a few months. The Department of Public Works had recommended that the appeal be dismissed, citing the urgency of the project and the fact that the road is used by a relatively large number of citizens as well as professionals.
Against the decision of the Department of Public Works which had decided to award the offer to the company "LAMBROU AND POUTZIOURIS CONSTRUCTION LTD" instead of the company "D. KOUPPIS & SONS CONSTRUCTION LTD" appealed, whose offer was rejected on the grounds that it did not meet its criteria, a condition relating to the value, construction of a wall.
The pronunciation concerned "Stabilisation of a landslide and reconstruction of part of Paphos – Chrysochous Road despite the village of Giolou in Paphos Province and was proclaimed by the Department of Public Works on 20/11/2020, almost 11 months after the challenge of subsidence.
Public Works had considered that the offer of the company "LAMBROU AND POUTZIOURIS CONSTRUCTION LTD", for €679,999.00 plus VAT met the conditions of participation and was the most economically advantageous on the basis of price.
The Community Authority warned
It is recalled that the subsidence was followed by an announcement that provided for the temporary closure of the road Paphos - Chrysochous Town (by the village of Giolou) from its junction with the road Stroubi - Sithakas to the junction with the road to Simos in the area of Kouyukka, from Wednesday 8/1/2020 for about two months, with the aim of carrying out construction work on a bypass part of the above road despite the landslide.
This was followed by reactions from the residents of Giolou and the Community Council, which led to its on-site bypass using asphalt about ten days after the landslide. At that time, the Minister of Transport and Works, Giannis Karousos, went on the spot and inspected the damage caused to the road surface. On this occasion he congratulated the Department of Public Works on the implementation of the bypass in a relatively short period of time.
When nine months passed without resolving the problem, then the Giolou Community Council strongly protested.
In a statement, the Community Authority of Giolou said that the road that was closed due to a landslide after last winter's bad weather, at the point before Giolou towards Chrysochous Town, has not yet been repaired.
For the passage of the inhabitants at that point was bypassed, however, "since 20 January 2020 visited the place by the Minister of Transport Communications and Works, Giannis Karousos, proper repair has not been done".
The Community Authority had estimated that the problems on the road network would be repeated. At the same time, it again appealed to the Minister responsible to ensure that the road for the safety of passing drivers is properly and permanently repaired.
The Community Authority had warned of measures and temporary closure of the road in response. Finally, it was decided to call for oral expressions, which were cancelled some seven months after they were called, which would change the start of the work and, by extension, the time at which it was completed.
