Company says authorities were ‘always kept informed’ about Akamas road plans

The authorities were “kept informed at all stages of the study and licencing of the project” of road constructions in Akamas, company Efpalinos Meletitiki said on Thursday.

Additionally, the company accused the Forestry department of “continuously targeting company employees”.

They said all those involved in the licencing process were aware of every stage of planning and construction and added that some people are “moving from the realm of conclusions to coincidences, scenarios, and assumptions.”

Without directly naming who they are criticising, they said some are displaying “ignorance of specific technical issues” and doing so “without independent investigations having taken place”.

Additionally, they said “it would be easy” to see in the construction plans if construction did not follow the planned routes.

They added that complaints and photographs published by non-governmental organisations “have been answered in detail in writing and given to the Forestry department and the agriculture minister”.

The company’s statements come a day after Agriculture Minister Petros Xenophontos had said a report on the works in Akamas will be ready next week.

He had added that he would not comment any further, as it could impede the administrative investigation into the matter.

Last week, Auditor-general Odysseas Michaelides slammed the agriculture ministry’s choice of investigator, as the individual is an officer seconded from the Forestry department, which had previously claimed there were no deviations in the works.

The Environment department and the Game Fund had already both officially acknowledged that that there had been violations.

Last week’s decision to completely halt construction had been welcomed by the members of the House environment committee and the committee’s other attendees.

Speaking at the committee meeting, Xenophontos said he had “expressed concerns” at a meeting held last Friday at the Athalassa environmental centre and added that he was “not satisfied with what I saw or heard”.