Police seek more upgrades to Evros fence
Aiming to further upgrade the capabilities of the fence on the Evros land border, the Hellenic Police is requesting the gradual replacement of the 23 thermal cameras installed in the old part of the fence, from Kastanies to Nea Vyssa, Kathimerini understands.
The cameras are 10 years old and have limited technical capabilities, while several of them have technical problems.
Recently, the Orestiada police department in northeastern Greece drafted a proposal for the modernization of the network, with the cost of replacing the 23 cameras budgeted at 1.5 million euros. “Efforts are being made to find funding,” said a police source.
Currently funds have already been approved for the maintenance of the existing network, to the tune of 220,000 euros.
The money is intended for the repair of those cameras that are out of order due to failure, but also of the containers located along the fence where the cameras are installed.
Meanwhile, the automated border surveillance system along the Greek-Turkish border in Evros has come into operation over the last few days.
It consists of 11 modern camera and radar systems with a range of between 3.5 and 15 kilometers, which transmit real-time images and data on border conditions. It covers a distance of more than 100 kilometers, extending from Sofiko to the Evros Delta near Alexandroupoli.
Its trial operation began, as stipulated in the contract, on October 20 and lasted for one month. Apart from the police, the new network of camera and radar systems is also used by the Hellenic Armed Forces.
The project had a budget of 14.9 million euros and was funded by the EU – specifically the Internal Security Fund. Greece is also trying to secure EU funds to finance the 35-kilometer extension of the fence.
