“One step closer to building the new one Penitentiary of Ioannina, in Kontsika Bizaniouwas done with the approval by the Ministry of Environment and Energy, of the Strategic Environmental Impact Study (SEIA) of the project”, as underlined in a related announcement.

According to the plan of the Ministry of Citizen Protection, in the context of upgrading the prison infrastructure, it was decided to build a Detention Center with a capacity of 600 places, on an area of ​​100,193 acres, located in Kontsika Bizani and has been granted for this purpose by the Municipality of Ioannito.

According to the Ministry of the Interior, the area is part of its area Natura 2000 network which is designated as a Special Protection Zone for avian fauna and for this reason the issuance of a Special Town Planning Plan by Presidential Decree is required, after approval of the Strategic Environmental Impact Study.

As it became known, in the next steps of the process, the creation of a draft Presidential Decree by the Ministry of the Interior, its approval by the Council of State and its filing for publication in the Official Gazette are foreseen.

The Deputy Minister of Environment and Energy, George Amyras, stated: “A request of many years from the municipality and the residents of Ioannina is becoming a reality. The prisons of Stavraki, located in the urban fabric, are leaving. With the completion of the new Penitentiary, the space and buildings of the Stavraki prisons will be given in return to the Municipality of Ioannito. An important upgrade for the country’s prison system, for the city of Ioannina, but also for the local economy, as hundreds of new jobs will be created in addition to the existing staff.”

For his part, the Deputy Minister of Citizen Protection, Lefteris Oikonomoustated: “The improvement and modernization of the existing infrastructure of the country’s Penitentiaries and the creation of new ones, in accordance with international standards and good practices and always with absolute respect for fundamental Human Rights and the recommendations of the European Commission on Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment constitutes a dominant pillar and a primary, continuous pursuit of the government policy we practice in the Ministry of Citizen Protection”.

And he adds: “The construction of the new Ioannina Penitentiary, which will mark the beginning of a new page for the city and the wider area of ​​Ioannina, is part of the existing building program that has been designed and implemented in this context. This is a project which, together with the upcoming operation of the New Penitentiary in Nikiforo in Drama, the New Penitentiary in Kourounes Lasithi and the relocation of the Korydallos Penitentiary Complex in Aspropyrgos, will contribute decisively to our country acquiring a network of modern penitentiaries structures worthy of our humanistic, human-centered culture”.