TECHNOLOGICAL SHIELD €25.5 million. FIRE FIGHTING - ELECTRO-OPTICAL SYSTEMS IN FORESTS, INDUSTRIAL ZONES AND CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE - ACTIONS OF FOUR MINISTRIES - Filenews 20/8 by Angelos Nikolaou
An ambitious investment plan of €25,513,593 over three years has been approved by the Council of Ministers for the implementation of the holistic surveillance system and other modern technologies for the purposes of fire prevention and response and crisis management. Essentially, with this decision, the Department of Forests, the Fire Service, the National Guard and the Civil Defense are united under a common umbrella.
The joint proposal submitted by the Ministries of Agriculture, Defense, Interior and Justice, after ensuring the positive response of the Ministry of Finance, seals the passage of the Republic to a new era of prevention and immediate response using cutting-edge technologies.
This is Phase B of the project that focuses on the coverage of the entire territory, complementing the successful pilot Phase A, in which the following were installed, among others: a) the crisis management system "ARGOS", b) the installation of four electro-optical automatic fire detection sensor systems, in Akamas, Madari, Oikos and Fikardou, c) the supply of four unmanned aircraft systems (drones), d) the installation of the MANET wireless network, and (e) the procurement of two mobile tactical level (C2) centres, which are mainly concerned with incident management in urban and semi-urban areas.
The new plan approved this summer by the Council of Ministers includes actions for Phase B of the holistic system:
31 Electro-optical sensor systems: 16 automatic detection systems in forest areas (Department of Forests) and 15 in industrial zones and critical infrastructure (Fire Service). The total cost for the 16 systems of the Department of Forests is estimated at €1.5 million and the 15 of the Fire Service €800,000.
Aerial surveillance means: Supply of two trailed observation balloons with built-in automatic fire detection sensors at an estimated cost of €800,000, and two support vehicles for Drone teams and observation balloons at a cost of €200,000 for the Department of Forests and reinforcement of the Fire Service's Drone fleet with two support vehicles for another €200,000.
MANET Communications Network (2nd Phase): Full expansion of the uninterrupted, wireless communications network for shared use by all involved forces Department of Forests, Fire Service, Civil Defense and National Guard. The MANET systems will be awarded through the negotiation process to €3.2 million. For the issue of infrastructure, IT and related network equipment for interconnections concerning all services, a negotiation process will be carried out with the amount estimated at €6.8 million. For the interconnection of drones of the Department of Forests with the MANET and ARGOS system, a contract of €178,000 will be required, which will be awarded through the negotiation process.
Operations centers in the field: Procurement of three C2 mobile operations centers with off-road mobility capability (4×4) for the Department of Forests at an estimated cost of €850,000 and a heavy operational level crisis management vehicle (C3) to support crisis management operations, of extended duration under the responsibility of the Civil Defense with an estimated cost of €1.3 million.
Digital tools and fleet: Development of fire development simulation software, daily risk forecast map of the Department of Forests with the cost estimated at €325,000, while for the upgrade of the General Operations Center of the Department of Forests another €350,000 will be required, as well as the purchase of 17 pumped fire trucks of the Fire Service with an estimated cost of another €6.8 million. Another 4 portable devices may be required for the needs of the National Guard amounting to €580,000. €6.8 million will be spent on the procurement of two hydraulic telescopic platforms with the ability to extinguish fires, as well as to save the life of the Fire Service.
Building infrastructure: For the needs of the Department of Forests, building infrastructure will be required for the staff and the means to be acquired and concern offices, garages and warehouse totalling €980,000.
The total cost of the actions over three years is estimated at €25,513,593, and is distributed to the Fire Service €13,604,564, the Department of Forests €8,543,678, the Civil Defense €2,004,821 and the National Guard €1,360,530.
It is noted that all actions are the result of a study prepared by a Committee for the introduction in the Republic of Cyprus of a surveillance system for the purposes of preventing and dealing with fires. Furthermore, a new enlarged Commission undertook the drafting of the specifications for surveillance systems, which includes preliminary specifications for equipment and infrastructure, implementation timelines, updated costs and needs for new staff.
Exclusion from tenders for national security reasons
Of particular interest is the decision of the Council of Ministers to exempt the tender procedures concerning the MANET wireless communications system and the IT infrastructure and related network equipment for interconnections from the legislation on Public Procurement, based on article 19(3) of Law 73(I)/2016. The award will be made directly to the contractors of Phase A at a cost of €10 million. The decision was taken with the consent of the Competent Public Procurement Authority (General Accounting Office), as it was considered that the protection of the sensitive data of the Security Forces and the technical compatibility of the systems are directly related to the essential security interests of the Republic.
It is noted that the PH will proceed with the conclusion of the relevant Contracts, for the creation of the infrastructure, the implementation of the interconnections and the supply of equipment, for all the Bodies involved, based on the Study and the delivery of the corresponding resources (infrastructure, interconnections, equipment) to the involved bodies.
Phase A of the MANET wireless communications network, with a total cost of approximately €1 million, has already been completed.
Furthermore, the implementation of the Crisis Management System – ARGOS, which concerned the installation of the necessary infrastructure and the supply of the required technology and IT equipment and interconnections to support the actions of Phase A, with a total cost of approximately €800,000, has been completed and its performance has been evaluated as satisfactory and meets the operational requirements of all stakeholders.
For the smooth operation of the system, the launch of 33 new civil servant positions was approved at an annual cost of €1.09 million, which are distributed to the Department of Forests (€618.692), the Fire Brigade (€305.324) and the Civil Defense (€171.200), while at the same time the concession of 20 positions of hourly paid staff for the Department of Forests will be considered.
In terms of funding, the expenses for the current year 2026 will be covered by savings and redistributions of the existing budgets of the Ministries involved, while from 2027 onwards the required amounts will be included in the official expenditure ceilings of the competent bodies.
