In the ministry’s funding program of Rural Development and Food its dam is expected to join within the next two months Ladukowhile an order has already been given to proceed with the studies for the Dafna dam.

This was announced by the Minister of Rural Development and Food, Lefteris Avgenakis, immediately after his meeting with the mayor of Heraklion, Alexis Kalokairinos.

“We are able to announce today that the Laduko dam, a project that seems to be extremely mature in terms of design, after an update already assigned to the OAK, we will be able to have it officially included in the financing program of our ministry in the next two months, so so that one by one the issues and outstanding matters concerning the municipality and the region of the municipality of Heraklion are launched“, noted Mr. Avgenakis, emphasizing that this particular development was preceded by cooperation, both with the Region of Crete and with the OAK.

In the framework of the meeting of the Ministry of AAT Lefteris Avgenakis with the mayor of Heraklion Alexis Kalokairinos, all issues concerning the primary sector of the Municipality of Heraklion were discussed, with the minister expressing his satisfaction that there is now a deputy mayor responsible for them.

“There are significant deficiencies in terms of land improvement projects, dams, dams, networks. For this reason, already in the previous weeks, we have been discussing four key issues: the Ladukos dam, the Dafna dam, the Asita dam and, finally, the settlement of the Giofiros and a dam required at the beginning of the river . We have left separately the issue of Karteros, for which there will be developments in the next period. All this in collaboration with the Region of Crete and in combination with the master plan that is being developed by the Dutch company HVA, for the management of the water resources of our island, the recording of land improvement projects, but also the anti-flood protection of our country“, said Mr. Avgenakis.

As the minister said, the meeting also discussed issues related to rural road construction, as it is clear the government’s commitment to support the country’s 4th largest city with every financial tool available, so that it can be put on a development path and enjoyed by residents and visitors a city safe and bright in every way.

When asked about the Aposelemi Dam and whether the construction of smaller dams is preferred, the Ministry of AAT replied: “The Aposelemi Dam is managed by the OAK and indeed well. Whether we will go to smaller dams – and this is my opinion – we will have a documented opinion in the master plan of the Dutch HVA, in cooperation with the OAK, with the Decentralized, with the region, with all the involved bodies, municipalities and services . So, a little patience in order to have a complete picture and proposal, which will be followed by all of us, coordinated, so that we have answers as a whole for the shielding of our island and the most correct management of the waters”.

“I think that the opportunity we have today to refer to the start of a project like the Laduko dam is really important. And here we are talking about a project which has a developmental character“, said the mayor of Heraklion.

The mayor, Alexis Kalokairinos, described the cooperation with the Minister of Rural Development as very good and productive and pointed out that the Ladoukos dam, in the area of ​​Prophet Ilias, is located on a tributary of the Yofiros and this means that on the one hand it will have an irrigation function, on the other however, it will contribute to flood protection and will also provide new data for the delimitation of the Yofyros river bed.

“This means that we will finally have the possibility to proceed with the organization of the city plan of all the western areas of Heraklion. So you understand that this is a whole grid which vitally affects the operation of the city and has to do with the future of the city“, added Mr. Kalokairinos, making special reference to the excellent cooperation and the very good results of the Region of Crete, the Decentralized Administration of Crete and the OAK.

Afterwards, the Minister of Rural Development and Food had a meeting with the mayor and deputy mayors of the Municipality of Heraklion, Giorgos Agrimanakis, Manolis Hairetis, Yiannis Tsapakis, Giorgos Karantinos and Giorgos Sisamakis.