The reconstruction of the first apartment buildings under the "ktiZO" Plan will begin in July, the Minister of the Interior, Mr. Konstantinos Ioannou, said today, speaking during the session of the Parliamentary Committee on Refugees, Missing Persons, Confined Persons and Sufferers.
In his presentation, Mr. Ioannou referred to the actions taken in the last year, from the date of the announcement of the Plan, until today, as well as the response of the beneficiaries who live in the 43 apartment buildings that fall under the first phase. Specifically, the Minister stated that 77,6% of the beneficiaries (287 beneficiaries) have expressed interest in participating in the Plan, while 6,5% of the beneficiaries (24 beneficiaries) have expressed their desire not to participate. At the same time, the rent is subsidized for 165 beneficiaries, while for 25 apartments storage space is granted for their personal belongings.
The Minister of the Interior informed the President and the members of the competent Parliamentary Committee on the progress of the evacuation and demolition process of the 20 apartment buildings that were deemed to be immediately dangerous. As he said, five apartment buildings located in the Municipality of Latsia have been evacuated and demolished, and in the next period the demolition of the remaining apartment buildings will proceed.
According to Mr. Ioannou, in the cases of apartment buildings that were not fully evacuated, and based on the Regulation of Streets and Buildings Law, the competent Authority for issuing an Evacuation Decree of an unsuitable and dangerous building is the competent Local Authority/Municipality. Therefore, it is up to the Municipalities to activate the provisions of the legislation to issue a Decree. He additionally pointed out that in cases where there are delays in the completion of the reconstruction due to the fault of the State, the Ministry of Interior will continue to provide rent allowance to the beneficiaries until the completion of the project. However, in the event that the delay is caused by the fault of the beneficiaries (eg they refuse to vacate the flats, they do not agree on procedures such as the selection of a Coordinator, sharing of flats, coke), then the rent allowance will be stopped after the predetermined period of time.
Besides, speaking to the representatives of the media after the end of the session, the Minister of the Interior called on the competent Municipalities, on the borders of which there are apartment buildings that have not been fully evacuated, to proceed with the issuance of Decrees, so that the apartment buildings can be demolished and the implementation can continue of the Plan with the reconstruction.
Regarding the reconstruction process, Mr. Ioannou stated that the tender has been awarded to a contractor for the construction of an apartment building in the settlement of Apostolos Andreas in the Municipality of Latsia and the reconstruction is expected to begin by July. For the 2nd block of flats in the Kokkines settlement in Strovolos, the closing date for tenders from contractors is 19 April and the expected start date for work has been set around the end of July. Tender documents are being prepared to receive offers from contractors for the apartment buildings in the settlements of Agios Eleftherios in Latsia and Plati in Aglantzia, with work expected to start around the end of August. The procedures are also progressing for the cases in Chrysospiliotissa and an apartment building in Strovolos III.
Finally, the Minister of the Interior noted that the procedure for the second phase of the Plan, which concerns 70 apartment buildings, will soon begin, the beneficiaries of which will be given a grant to the beneficiaries to hire a Civil Engineer, to prepare the necessary studies, which will demonstrate whether the apartment buildings they should be rebuilt or repaired. Continuing, Mr. Ioannou explained that, in cases where some of these apartment buildings will be deemed unsafe and reconstruction will have to take place, the construction of the apartment buildings will take place in the same area and the same procedure will be followed as in the first phase, i.e. evacuation of the apartments, grant of rent allowance, appointment of a Coordinator, sponsorship by the State to the beneficiaries, contribution from the beneficiaries, coc.
Finally, the Minister, after thanking the members of the Parliamentary Committee on Refugees for their continuous support, noted that there are some individual problems, which are resolved in cooperation with the recommendations of the members of the Committee. However, he expressed confidence that there will be no serious deviation from the established timelines, so that a holistic solution can finally be given to this chronic problem that afflicts our refugee fellow citizens.