The Minister of Agriculture expects the submission of a proposal so that the Integrated Waste Management Facilities of Pentakomo can operate as provided for in the contract, and the contracting company is preparing to submit it at the end of June, according to the Director of the unit Loizos Auxentiou, who indicates at the same time that what was provided for in two previous proposals submitted, has not been implemented.
From the government side, we were told that these were rejected because the Contractor wanted the state to take over the modifications, contrary to the terms of the Contract which were Design, Build and Operate, but also because they were not accepted by the EU. Mr. Auxentiou cites an English expert who studied the problems (on behalf of both sides), claiming that he has recognized that the main one is the excess moisture in the material it receives, which is beyond the limit constructed for Integrated Waste Management Facilities to process in the final product “RDF”, to be 40% instead of 20%.
He added that waste from industrial processes also ends up at the Integrated Waste Management Facilities, inviting any industries that want help sorting them, to contact the unit, which will respond. The English expert suggested upgrading the equipment to be able to accept solid waste with increased humidity, but there is disagreement as to who will bear the cost. The Auditor General maintains that for any bad design, or installation of machinery, the Contractor is responsible and the state should not bear the costs.
The Council of Ministers recently approved, as a precaution, a plan to take over Integrated Waste Management Facilities, in case the existing contract is terminated. The MP Kostas Kostas, who has been following the issue for years, pointed out that the shredder has been broken for five years, there is no burner and five times more waste is buried than it should be. Regarding the "black" rainwater retention pond that the deputies recently encountered, he pointed out that when it rains, the "toxic" water overflows and ends up in the adjacent fields.
The director of Integrated Waste Management Facilities replies that for three years he has been asking the state to pump the black water for processing at the biological station without response and that they will finally do it themselves. He also emphasizes that "half of Pentakomo" knows his cell phone and that the odor problem that existed was solved. However, Limassol Waste Management Board (SEDAL), which refuses to receive the Integrated Waste Management Facilities (OEDA), considers that this has not been resolved and that there are obvious environmental problems in the unit, which were also noted by the MP’s a few weeks ago.
