Filenews 7 September 2021 - by Dora Christodoulou
It came to light, after decades of silence, in 2017 as the European Capital of Culture and now he is saying goodbye to us.
The reason for the old ice factory of Pafos, owned by the wine industry SODAP Kamanterena, which was then granted to "Pafos 2017" to cover artistic and other needs of the European Capital of Culture, contributing among other things to the making known to a large percentage of Pafos society that was completely unaware of its existence, after such a long stay in oblivion.
The ice factory has remained in the spotlight ever since, since even though Pafos handed over the anointment of the Cultural Capital, the place was still occasionally mentioned for hosting the HHIC, sometimes for cultural use and sometimes for other purposes.
All this, however, is definitely a thing of the past, since as the "F" reveals today, the Municipality of Pafos has now issued the demolition permit of the building requested by the owner wine industry. This is in order for the space to be exploited in the future for the benefit of SODAP and its shareholders, since it was judged that the old building in the condition it was in did not provide the guarantees for modern development. Already the site has been fenced by the contractor's crews who will undertake the demolition project.
Confirming this information, the deputy general director of SODAP, Marinos Perikleous, told "F" that after the official permission of the municipal authority for the demolition, the file has been forwarded to the designer selected by the Organization for the preparation of proposals for the future development of the site. The exact use of the plot will be decided by the Committee of SODAP at a later stage, he pointed out, as well as whether any exploitation and future management will be done by SODAP itself or by another business entity to which the space will be rented under a long-term contract. The only sure thing, stressed Mr. Perikleous, is that the sale of the plot is excluded, since it is the policy of the Organization not to sell off its assets.
The ice factory operated in the 20th century, preparing ice, which it marketed. In the piece of the ice factory there was a drill that gave huge quantities of water, of excellent quality at the time. This water was used by the unit to prepare the ice. SODAP operated at that time its well-known factory on the beach of Kato Pafos. Having great water needs for its operation, it then proceeded to the acquisition of the ice factory by its then owner, in order to have in his possession this water.
Despite the great distance of the two points, the water came from the ice factory to the SODAP of Kato Pafos without mechanical support, since the altitude difference was such that it allowed the flow of water into the pipes from one end to the other.
