Village residents in the locality of Vasilikos in Limassol plan to hold a demonstration on Sunday in protest over South Cyprus government plans to create a giant energy complex in the area.
Residents say that:
“The community is concerned about the health and safety of residents in light of the concentration of heavy and pollutant-emitting industry in the area and the fact that the Master Plan proposes that all energy-related industries (power plants, LPG gas, LNG natural gas, strategic oil reserves and oil-storage tank farms) are grouped there. We demand that the industrial area hosts only petroleum-based industries.”
The community says that the “Master Plan” gives no rationale for the concentration of energy industries in the area relating to natural gas, liquid gas, ammonia, urea and methanol, and that this would “concentrate all of [South] Cyprus’ energy production and very dangerous industries in a small area, resulting in increased risk of accidents that could cripple the country.”
“The Master Plan fails to address environmental and quality-of-life issues. We will accept no further deterioration of either, and suggest that an alternative is found by considering other areas to host liquid gas and natural gas processing facilities,” the statement argues and goes on to demand:
“…. a strategic study that is not confined to the area designated by the Master Plan, but expands to a ten-kilometre radius, which the community has been requesting since 2009.”
