After the floods in Greece, the cost of reconstruction estimated at more than 3 billion euros, according to the Prime Minister

“The overall repair of the damage caused by (the storms) Daniel and Elias will exceed three billion euros,” he said during a visit to Thessaly, a region in central Greece devastated by the September floods. last.

Repairing roads, the rail network and schools alone will cost 1,4 billion euros, he added.

“The road network will be rebuilt better than before,” promised the head of the Greek government, while specifying that the rehabilitation of the railway network would be completed by the end of 2025.

The floods, which left 17 people dead, also destroyed roads and bridges and killed tens of thousands of farm animals.

Some of the reconstruction projects under consideration are drawing criticism from environmental groups, including the project proposed by HVA, a Dutch company advising the Greek government.

Greenpeace, WWF, the Hellenic Society for the Protection of Nature and the Hellenic Ornithological Society deplored that these projects favor the construction of "old-fashioned" dams rather than the ecological management of rivers, recommended by the EU .

The organizations criticized proposals to dredge rivers on Thursday, arguing that removing obstacles would cause water to flow even faster.

They also fear that the reconstruction of infrastructure will revive decades-old projects, in particular that aimed at diverting the Achelous River in western Greece, rejected several times by administrative justice.

In a press release sent to AFP, HVA responds to detractors that its approach is based on scientific data.

The company notes that alternative solutions have been examined under several EU initiatives. But, to date, "knowledge is insufficient" to establish that these solutions could be applied to projects of the magnitude of those that will be needed in Thessaly.