The Municipality of Thermaikos has won a court injunction blocking the extraction of 4 million cubic meters of sand from the Epanomi peninsula for the expansion of Pier 6 at the Port of Thessaloniki.
The injunction was granted by the Council of State, Greece’s supreme administrative court, following a legal challenge filed by the municipality, which lies southeast of Thessaloniki, in March.
In a statement, Thermaikos Municipality described the ruling as “a milestone in defending the municipality’s marine and terrestrial environments,” adding that it marked “the first battle won in a long struggle” to prevent what it called an environmental catastrophe on the Epanomi peninsula.
The Pier 6 expansion project includes the construction of an additional 500 meters of quay and has a budget of around €200 million. The development is intended to increase the Port of Thessaloniki’s cargo-handling capacity.
