Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited Thessaly yesterday, a year after the impact of the severe weather event Daniel, and announced the plan for the reconstruction of Thessaly, which includes expenditures and investments totaling €3 billion. [1], [2]
The plan allocates €1.5 billion for support, restoration, and state aid and another €1.5 billion for infrastructure projects managed by the Ministry of Finance.
Specifically, €182.7 million will be distributed to over 50,500 beneficiaries, and €237.7 million will go to local government organizations and a special support scheme for businesses, particularly in the municipalities of Palamas and Farkadona, which were most affected. Mitsotakis also noted that €650 million has already been spent on restoration and support efforts.
The severe weather event “Daniel,” which began on September 4, 2023, caused massive destruction, primarily in Thessaly, and resulted in the deaths of at least 17 people.
He categorized the ongoing projects into three levels:
• Projects carried out by the Region with significant state funding, including interventions in streams, rivers, and dams.
• Projects in mountainous areas.
• Four major projects, considered “a legacy” for Thessaly, mainly focused on Lake Karla.
However, S. Aleiftiras, spokesperson for the agricultural associations of Larissa, pointed out in an interview that the Prime Minister’s recent announcements for Thessaly are the same as those made in 2021 after the Ianos storm.
“All the announcements concerned the large dams in Thessaly mentioned immediately after the Ianos storm four years ago. So we are witnessing a recycling of these announcements,” said S. Aleiftiras.
He also criticized that during the announcements, “the flood victims were kept 200 meters away because Mr. Mitsotakis had deployed riot police to prevent those with real problems from approaching him.”
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