Cyprus identifies site for unified operational security centre in Vasiliko

Cyprus has begun setting up a Unified Operational Centre in the Vasiliko energy zone. The site has already been selected and cleared, while procedures are under way concerning its design, operating arrangements and staffing, the Ministry of Justice and Public Order said.

The decision was confirmed at the second coordination meeting, held on 10 September by Justice Minister Costas Fytiris and Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry Michalis Damianos. The first such meeting took place on 28 July at the initiative of the Ministry of Justice.

The centre will bring together representatives of all relevant services, giving them a shared picture of developments and the ability to respond to incidents immediately and in a coordinated manner. A coordination committee will oversee implementation of the plan: the police have been designated as coordinator and will also convene meetings regularly.

The planning covers the protection of facilities from land, sea and air, the prevention and mitigation of pollution, including marine pollution, as well as emergency preparedness. The ministry proposes treating the energy zone as a single operational area covering security, occupational safety, civil defence and environmental protection.

Vasiliko is one of Cyprus’s most important critical infrastructure sites: it is home to the country’s main power station, a liquefied natural gas terminal, and port and telecommunications facilities. The July meeting was attended by the ministers of justice and defence, the deputy chief of police, the Chief of the National Guard General Staff, representatives of the fire service and companies operating in the area.

The aim is to establish “a unified and functional mechanism with clearly defined powers and continuous oversight” to protect human lives, the environment and the area’s critical infrastructure, the Ministry of Justice said.