Forestry department bolstered with new equipment

Agriculture Minister Maria Panayiotou on Friday inspected vehicles and equipment recently received by the forestry department at Athalassa through the Recovery and Resilience Plan.

The minister said that with a budget of €25.7 million from the plan, so far, four excavators, nine fire-fighting tractors – six from the scheme and three from government funds – had been received plus eight forklifts, six vegetation cutters and ten personnel carriers, while the arrival of 25 all-terrain fire engines, 17 large fire engines, six firetrucks, six 12-tonne water tankers, and another 65 personnel vehicles. The purchase of another aircraft is also planned through the plan, funded by the EU.

“These are very important additions to the equipment for the protection of our forests,” said the minister.

“The department is being strengthened both qualitatively and quantitatively, with modern as another measure to upgrade its operational capacity to deal with forest fires,” she added.

The aim of the additional equipment is to adapt fire protection in the era of climate change by reducing the risk of fires and dealing with them more efficiently if they do break out.

The entire plan is expected to be in place by June 2026.