Concerns over Larnaca’s growing industrialisation

By Andria Kades

THE HOUSE Environment Committee expressed concerns on Wednesday that Larnaca is becoming increasingly industrialised, contrary to Communication and Works Minister Marios Demetriades’ statements that the city’s focus is on commercial activity.

According to Green Party leader and MP Giorgos Perdikis, a study by ENI gas has found that sound levels at the Larnaca port exceed 70dB – numbers which are only fit for an industrial area.

“The Larnaca port has already turned into an industrial area without the necessary checks. We asked to get the pollution levels in the water at the Larnaca port and we were told there were no measurements because the sensors do not work. We have information that the sensors were stolen from the port,” a party statement said.

Committee chairman Adamos Adamou said that Larnaca was surrounded by heavy industries.

He also raised concerns over the lack of action plans in case of accidents at any of the sites engaged in hydrocarbon-related activities in the Krasia area. Adamou said no one was in a position to say what would happen in case of an accident.

He cited a study by TEPAK that companies have no action plans, but officials from the Labour Inspection Department hit back saying that there were plans but they were not submitted to the committee because they needed to be signed off by Labour Minister Zeta Emilianidou.

He did however quell residents’ fears over the levels of radioactivity at Krasia saying that studies by the state laboratory in both the water and air found that the concentration was below the permissible levels.