The regional governor of Attica gave answers to the critical issues concerning the anti-flood shielding of Attica Nikos Hardalias last night on ANT1. “I am not going to make any concessions either in the pace of my work, or in the degree of my claim for anything related to the protection of human life and the assurance of what I have committed to the citizens, who do not ask for words, but tangible results. I’m not interested in being pleasant, I’m interested in being useful,” he emphasized.

The regional governor developed the holistic plan drawn up by the Regional Authority for the protection of the basin, against climate change and extreme natural phenomena, which includes, among other things, 158 anti-flood projects, with a total budget of 1.2 billion euros.

He emphasized that from the first day he took office, he emphasized not only the operational plan for dealing with adverse scenarios, but, primarily, the part concerning prevention. That is why a series of anti-flooding projects have been started in time, while it is also considered necessary to inform the world about how it should react whenever medium or high risk phenomena occur.

Mr. Hardalias informed that two main interventions are currently underway concerning the cleaning works of dozens of main streams and the implementation of infrastructure projects, in order to “increase water protection in areas that were flooded in the past”, as he said. He made special mention of the cleaning of the tiled sections of Kifissos with a total length of 8.5 kilometers which had been cleaned for the last time in the distant 2002, during the ministry of PEHODE, Vassos Papandreou, in view of the 2004 Olympic Games. “From August until today, more than 12,500 tons of haulable materials, which are a mixture of various items such as concrete chunks, soil and waste, while stones and mud are also removed,” he noted.

The governor noted that the process is very demanding and that issues have arisen, which are being addressed, such as the fact that large pieces of concrete have been found that may have detached from the roof and side walls of the pipeline. “The ladders work under adverse conditions, there are pipelines along the length that connect to Kifissos, but their drainage capacity is minimal, while we also discovered pipelines that are closed. On the other hand, fortunately, no question of stability has arisen so far.”

Similar cleaning works are being carried out in Podoniftis, while in the first quarter of 2025 they will also start in Ilissos. As for the collector pipe of the Municipality of Nea Philadelphia – Nea Chalkidona, he said that the specific project had started 25 years ago, but it was constantly stuck in the gears of the bureaucracy, with the result that a few years ago it was discontinued. “We will respond quickly and efficiently to this bureaucracy” he noted, informing that “we have updated the entire study from the beginning and by August 2025 the specific project will have been handed over to the citizens”.

The Attica Region, it was said in the interview, has under its responsibility 454 streams throughout the basin, with a total length of 879 kilometers – almost the distance from Athens to Edirne, Turkey. Of these, 601 kilometers belong to the so-called high-risk zones. At the same time, the agency is responsible for cleaning 37,218 wells, which are located on all the central road arteries.

Asked about the cost of all these cleanings, Mr. Hardalias stated that “110 million euros are required for the initial cleanings, with the Attica Region having so far secured 52 million euros. Our strategic planning is to proceed with cleaning operations on a consistent basis, every year. However, in order to do something like this, an additional 48 million euros per year are required on average.”

Regarding the anti-flooding projects, the regional governor said that a total of 158 anti-flooding projects are planned for Attica, “to say that based on the resistance limits provided by the law, we are highly protected”, with a budget of 1.2 billion euros. Of these, the 54 anti-flood projects (with a total budget of 447.4 million euros) have a high maturity index and are on track for implementation in the first half of 2025 and “will be completed during our term”. At the same time, studies are being matured – in collaboration with the co-competent ministries – for the remaining 104 projects, with the aim of including them in specific financial programs, so that they have been launched in turn by the end of 2028.

“We know how many and which projects are required, where they need to be done and how much money we need. We have made specific proposals for all of this and are awaiting the state’s responses. In any case, we have managed – in cooperation with the co-competent bodies – to overcome the issues related to bureaucratic entanglements and chronic arrhythmias”, he characteristically underlined.

Mr. Hardalias also referred to the significant – as he characterized it – recent change in the framework, which now allows faster procedures through vertical licensing and with the possibility of appeals to the Council of State, in the first and last instance, facilitating – as he noted – the immediate promotion of projects that were pending until now.

Mr. Hardalias also highlighted the need to adopt a metropolitan model for the management of prevention projects for the effective shielding of Attica against natural disasters. “There must finally be someone responsible for the network of necessary interventions and we are ready to take on such a responsibility. Four agencies cannot be responsible for one well. Metropolitanism can provide the desired solutions. There is relevant European practice and experience on this, there is already a good example”, he noted.

In closing, he stated that the armoring of Attica “is not a matter of the future, but concerns the present.” Citizens want results from us. There must be vigilance and sobriety. We continue the excellent work being done on the business plans so that we can, if nothing else, be useful to our communities.”

Finally, it is noted that in the program “Face to Face” together with the regional governor N. Hardalia, the Minister of Civil Protection and Climate Crisis Vassilis Kikilias and the president of OASP and professor of natural disaster management Efthymis Lekkas participated, while other regional governors, mayors and scientists dealing with the effects of climate change in our country.