Speaking after a meeting between the deputy minister for environment and energy, Nikos Tsafos, and New Democracy MPs for Magnesia, Mr Kouretas said the gulf ‘is not a sea for such a unit to be built. The Pagasitikos will be destroyed and we have explained it. If the government proceeds, there will be war and I am not joking or being populist.’
The governor’s post on social media sparked an immediate reaction from the local community. The Association for the Protection and Promotion of the Pagasitikos, ‘The Pagasitikos unites us’, and 41 citizens submitted a formal request to the Volos municipal council asking that the planned installation of the floating LNG unit (FSRU Argo) be placed on the council agenda for discussion.
In their petition the association said recent developments in energy planning require an update to previous local decisions and called on the municipal council to adopt a unanimous position against the installation. They noted that unanimous rejections of the FSRU Argo have already been taken by the regional council of Thessaly and by the municipal councils of Almyros, Rigas Feraios, Zagora and South Pelion.
According to local reports, ND MPs Christos Triantopoulos, Zetta Makri and Christos Boukoros signalled reservations about the project, while the government has not issued a definitive public position.
The association asked the Volos council to take a clear stand ‘to prevent this disastrous installation for Magnesia’ and urged elected bodies to reflect the widely held concerns of residents about risks to fisheries, tourism and coastal communities.
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