To fully restore the landscape of Sarakiniko of Milos and to restore the area to its former natural state, the Ministry of Environment and Energy invited the company UNIQUE DEVELOPMENTS ATEE, owned by businessman Dionysis Koumoudou, which began work on the construction of a hotel unit in one of the most symbolic and sensitive natural formations of the island.
This is the case of the investment in Sarakiniko, which was “frozen” after the investigation by the National Transparency Authority, which revealed that the building permit was issued with serious irregularities and deficiencies. With its new decision, the political leadership of the Ministry of the Interior is now moving from the cancellation stage to the environmental restoration stage, activating the institutional framework for the prevention and restoration of environmental damage.
What does the decision mean for Sarakiniko Milos?
According to the decision, the company is obliged within one month to remove the form and steel placed in the foundation area, fill the pit with the products of the excavations and restore the natural comfort of the area, to eliminate the risk of accidents to visitors.
At the same time, all construction materials and any temporary facilities must be removed, while the management of the process is carried out by Milos Construction Service.
The decision is based on the detailed autopsy of the Environmental Inspectors, who conducted an inspection of the “Kaminia – Sarakiniko” area and found many interventions in an area of ​​special ecological and geomorphological value.
As can be seen from the conclusion, the field of investment is located within a statutory Wildlife Sanctuary, which imposes an additional level of protection and control of activities.
The construction site in Sarakiniko, Milos
Particular importance is also attached to the issue of access, since the construction site is served by a narrow dirt road, described as a “rural road”, without any official administrative designation or evidence of the time and legality of its opening.
Inspectors recorded a large excavation area, measuring approximately 30 by 20 meters and up to 10 meters deep, where molds and metal rebars had been placed. Around the pit were large piles of excavated material, which further altered the landscape.
The unique geological landscape of Milos
The soil in the area is composed of soft volcanic tuffs, a characteristic element of the unique geological landscape of Milos, which is particularly vulnerable to wind and water erosion.
The autopsy also recorded the destruction of natural vegetation, which includes the typical Mediterranean gorse, junipers, sedges, aphanes and coastal plants such as kritam and limonia, which make up the special ecosystem of the region.
At the same time, the decision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs refers to the conclusion of the National Transparency Authority, which highlights serious institutional gaps and violations in the licensing process. Among other things, it was seen that in the Municipality of Milos there is no institutionalized urban planning at the first level, nor special restrictions for activities in areas of Wildlife Refuges.
License without critical approval
The Authority emphasizes that rural roads cannot make pitches to be built for tourist facilities, although the YDOM of Milos issued a certificate of construction conditions and then a construction permit, without an approved access road, ignoring the relevant jurisprudence of the Council of State.
In addition, the license was issued without critical approval from the Council of Architecture and the Ministry of Culture, without definition of the coast and coast, without demarcation of the stream, without permission to use water from drilling and without geotechnical study.
Finally, the project was wrongly classified in a low environmental category, avoiding the creation of an Environmental Impact Study.
The limits of tourist development in the Cyclades
Due to these findings, the Ministry of the Environment activates Presidential Decree 148/2009 and Law 1650/1986 and emphasizes that there is an immediate threat of environmental damage, which requires the complete restoration of the site.
The case of Sarakinikos is now developing into a symbolic example of the limits of tourist development in the Cyclades and how the State tries to regain control of areas of high natural value, where interventions in recent years have caused strong reactions and severe environmental pressures.
