CONSTRUCTION works have started on the development of the old Larnaca terminal, amidst speculation about the possible erection of a shopping mall or a hotel complex.
Hermes Airports, the company that manages the old terminal, has yet to decide on how it will use the buildings already in place, but clarified that there would be no rash decisions made.
“We are still at the stage of contemplating and evaluating different ideas on whether to use the airport’s complex in its entirety or merely sections of it” said Adamos Aspris, Hermes Airports’ public relations and communication manager.
“Sending in the bulldozers to flatten the whole area is definitely not an option though” said Aspris.
The construction work is currently confined to the transport of certain materials and to the removal of asbestos linings from small sheds found near the old runway. Slight concerns were voiced last month by on-site employees on the asbestos removal procedure, but a meeting with the company’s management apparently put worries to bed.
“We appreciate the concerns about the asbestos removal and we know that it is a delicate procedure that requires great caution” said Aspris.
Aspris said that the company was continuously in contact with the responsible departments to ensure that they undertook the correct procedure.
“The fundamental principle of our actions is the well-being and safety of the personnel and the environment, and that is why we have been meticulous in all our procedures concerning the asbestos removal” said Aspris.
The majority of the asbestos found in the old terminal is in the form of sheets on the ceilings and in mixtures of some walls of small prefabricated buildings; Hermes Airports’ old offices. In the case of most of these buildings, asbestos constitutes 13 per cent of the mixture with cement, while there is an estimated surface area of 2,000 square metres of asbestos that is to be removed.
According to Antonis Koutsoulis, director of project management for the Hermes Larnaca airports, most of the buildings that contain asbestos were built on a temporary basis immediately after the 1974 Turkish invasion.
Koutsoulis indicated that the removal procedure got the go-ahead by the appropriate departments and would be completed, in all likelihood, by the end of November.
One of the key departments involved, is Larnaca’s department of labour inspection, which certifies the qualifications of the construction team in charge of asbestos removal.
George Ioannou, the department’s director said that a risk assessment had been conducted with the constructor to ensure that the removal followed the standard procedure outlined in the Labour Ministry’s health and safety plan.
“We have already inspected the old terminal, and we will conduct frequent checks throughout the removal procedure” said Ioannou.
According to the plan, the asbestos should be removed carefully, then wrapped in nylon foil and drenched in chemical glue which stops any fibres from spreading after a possible break. The pile would then be placed in a container and transferred into a safe place; most probably the old asbestos quarries in the Troodos village of Amiandos.
Cyprus Mail
