Working meeting of the Regional Governor of AMTH Mr. Topsides, the Deputy Regional Governor of Kavala Mr. Markopoulos and the Secretary General Ms. Zerva in Kavala

A working meeting on the progress of irrigation projects and in particular the Marmaras dam project was held today at the Kavala Regional Administration, with the participation of the Governor of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Mr. Christodoulos Topsidis, the Deputy Governor of Kavala, Theodoros Markopoulos, and the Secretary General of Union Resources and Infrastructure of the Ministry of Rural Development and Food, Ms. Argyros Zerva. The meeting was also attended by the Thematic Deputy Governors, Mr. Alexandros Iosifidis and Panagiotis Archontis.
Ms. Zervas' presence in Kavala was linked to the event for the 35th anniversary of Development Kavala, however, on the sidelines of the visit, a substantive discussion took place about projects related to the primary sector and agricultural production in the region.
Mr. Markopoulos welcomed the Secretary General, thanking her for the cooperation and support she provides on issues of the Regional Unit of Kavala and the AMTH Region as a whole. As he noted, this cooperation is of particular importance for infrastructure projects related to the agricultural economy, irrigation networks and water resources management.
For his part, the Governor of the AMT Region, Mr. Christodoulos Topsides, underlined that the agri-food sector is one of the main pillars of development of the AMT Region. Mr. Topsides then referred to the ongoing cooperation of the AMT Region with the Ministry of Rural Development and Food, noting that through the available financial tools, proposals of significant amounts have been submitted, which are currently in the evaluation phase.
"Our goal is to produce projects, create infrastructure and support in practice the people who operate and produce in our Region," stressed Mr. Topsides, emphasizing the need for Eastern Macedonia and Thrace not to lag behind other Regions of the country and Europe.
Particularly important was Ms. Zerva's reference to the Marmaras project. As she stated, the project is "on an excellent path", while in the immediate future it is expected that the APE will give its pre-approval, as well as the approval of the additional resources required for the complementary projects. These are interventions necessary for the project to be fully completed and become operational.
The Secretary General also informed the Regional Governor and the Deputy Regional Governor about the progress of the evaluation of the large call for proposals concerning irrigation projects throughout the country. As she noted, the demand is very high, as many proposals have been submitted from various regions of Greece. For this reason, the possibility of increased over-commitment of resources is even being considered, with the use of the next programming period.
Ms. Zerva underlined that water is a central priority, not only for the Ministry of Rural Development and Food, but for the government as a whole, with particular emphasis on irrigation water, which is a key prerequisite for the resilience and development of the primary sector.
The meeting highlighted once again the importance of irrigation infrastructure for the Kavala Regional State and for the AMT Region as a whole, at a time when climate pressure, the need to save water and support agricultural production make such projects absolutely crucial for the future of the countryside.