Bird’s eye on illegal building
Aerial and satellite images being employed to monitor construction irregularities
The state will employ state-of-the art satellite and aerial technology in order to locate illegal buildings throughout Greece.
The goal, in the first phase, will be to identify the new illegal constructions and to stop violations from the get-go, not after the fact. As one official said, “it will no longer be possible to arbitrarily build up an entire area, as we see happening in Mykonos.” Subsequently, and as the project matures, special attention will be given to identifying irregularities in existing structures.
As announced on Wednesday, the project, titled “Identification of Unauthorized Construction with Modern Technological Means” and with a budget of 124 million euros, was added to the Recovery Fund. Of that, €24 million will be financed by the national part of the Public Investment Program. This is a decision signed by the Deputy Minister of National Economy and Finance Nikos Papathanasis, with responsibility for the implementation of the reform lying with the Ministry of Environment and Energy, headed by Thodoros Skylakakis, while the execution of the project will be carried out by the Technical Chamber of Greece (TEE).
Speaking to Kathimerini, TEE president Giorgos Stasinos notes that “we will use a series of technologies such as images from satellites, aerial vehicles, manned and unmanned (drones), in order to cover the entire country. This will be repeated regularly, in order to compare the data (e.g. the original with the later) and detect any irregularities. If we see, for example, that something bigger is being built than it should be, we will send building inspectors.”
The comparison of the data that TEE will receive from the aerial means will be done with the electronic platform for issuing building permits (e-Permits), in order to establish whether what is being built has first been licensed and then, whether the built surface corresponds to the license or is greater than intended. If this is the case, then a building inspector will be sent to the site to establish the violations and impose sanctions.
