- 19 February 2024
- Posted by: eyath-news
- Category: All News
“It is a special day for the company, but also for the city, a day of joy”, said the president of EYATH, Professor Agis Papadopoulos, welcoming the distinguished guests to the opening of the company’s ground-up renovated building at Egnatia 127, on Friday, February 16 2024.
“Today we are launching a gem. We are particularly happy that a public service built a building that meets the highest standards, responding to the conditions of the time and the need for sustainable utilization of natural resources”, pointed out, during his greeting, the Deputy Minister of the Interior supervising EYATH – responsible for Macedonian issues – Thrace, Stathis Konstantinidis, who also cut the ribbon of the inauguration together with the administration of EYATH and His Holiness Metropolitan of Thessaloniki, Mr. Philotheos. “We are happy because we see this beautiful work which shows that where there is good and benevolent intervention, miracles happen”, noted His Holiness, who also performed the consecration.
“The reconstruction of the building symbolizes the combination of historical continuity and vision. With excellent internal environmental conditions and a distinct architectural point of view, it marks the transition to the future here next to the eastern Byzantine walls of the city,” said Mr. Papadopoulos and added: “As EYATH S.A., with the forerunners of the water supply and sewerage organizations, we rely in a history and tradition of more than a century that we water and drain the city. But at the same time, we have the vision and strategy to continue to provide these services in the wider region, upgraded and adapted to the imperatives of the climate crisis era.”
“When we took over the reins of EYATH, in the midst of a pandemic, the building was literally – due to teleworking – and metaphorically showing its nakedness. Modern buildings must harmonize with their environment, meet their needs in a natural way, and offer workers a quality of life. We had a qualified and decisive Board of Directors and we moved forward despite the difficulties and surprises of the pandemic”, noted the company’s managing director, A. Amanatidis, announcing that “in the coming days a tender will be issued for the construction of our unfinished office building in Toumba, while in the coming days we will sign the bilateral contracts for the supply of electricity from RES. This means that the cost of energy will drop a lot and we will also get the “green” certificate, so that we can start projects abroad. All these benefits will reward the consumers”.
The technical characteristics, factors and timetables of the project were presented by the vice-president of EYATH, Grigoris Penelis, with special reference to the static problems of the old building, which now “based on the new static concrete technology regulations, is statically suitable for the next 50 years ». Mr. Penelis pointed out that this is a building with almost zero energy consumption (energy class A+), with LED lighting, provisions for the disabled, modern automation and control systems, air conditioning with VRF and with a final cost of 4.6 million euros.
The Director of Strategic Planning, Projects and Development of EYATH, Alexandros Mendes, who took the journalists on a tour of the renovated building, emphasized that “its very big advantage is its autonomy, which is covered either by the photovoltaic panels that we have installed on the roof of the building, or from the protection provided by the glass mobile blinds” and spoke of a new, “bright” landmark in the area that is now handed over to the society of Thessaloniki. The audience’s interest was attracted by the public fountain that is placed at the entrance of the building on Egnatia, to which any of our fellow citizens can have access to quench their thirst.
The building was built by Railway Works ATE, the architectural study was done by K-Architectones EE, the IT and energy study by K. Sarropoulos, the static design by Concept Consultants Engineers SA. and the acoustic study by G. Hatzigeorgiou. The supervision of the project was carried out by a committee of engineers of the Directorate of Projects of EYATH under A. Mende.
The opening attended, among others, members of the Greek parliament, mayors, representatives of Thessaloniki entities, partners and employees of EYATH.
