Another project sinks: €8 million Liopetri River project scrapped
After an almost two-year delay, the government announced on Tuesday the termination of an €8 million contract for the Liopetri River and fishing shelter project.
Despite 22 months of extensions, progress on the project has been extremely slow, the interior ministry said as it announced it was scrapping the project.
According to the government, there has been five per cent progress since last year.
“One year ago, the project was 50 per cent implemented. Today it is at 55 per cent.” As such, there is no possibility to complete the project within the given timeframe, the interior ministry said.
Despite multiple notices to the contractor and project engineer, “they failed to meet their commitments,” and on the contrary made “extreme demands” leading to “huge delays,” it added.
The delays have significantly impacted local fishermen, restaurant owners, and the broader community, causing a “domino effect” on regional development.
The government explained that numerous meetings were held in an attempt to facilitate the project’s completion. However, “it has become clear that all efforts were exhausted, and more than adequate time was given. Good faith and tolerance were shown to the contractor’s promises, while the contractor failed to meet any timeframe for the project.”
Evaluating the facts, it is “impossible to make up for the huge delay on the project.” To mitigate the consequences and damages, the town planning department last week terminated the contract, citing failure to meet contractual obligations.
The government’s decision was “supported by the findings of an audit office report, received on Monday from the town planning department.”
The interior ministry is now exploring alternative solutions to complete the project “as soon as possible under the circumstances and at the lowest possible cost.”