Old-timers in Kolymbari remember when there was a beach in front of the restaurants on the sea front. Then in the year 2000 the modern harbour was built with EU funds and changed the course of the sea currents, with the result that the beach was completely eroded and only rocks were left up against the sea wall.
The modernisation and extension of the harbour carried out from 2019 onwards included the building of three large stone breakwaters a hundred metres or so offshore with the aim of stopping further erosion and protecting the sea wall from damage caused by winter storms. Not only were the measures effective but they resulted in a build-up of sand inside the breakwaters, creating a large beach area which has been highly popular with both visitors and local residents.
While the sand now threatens to completely fill the area between the breakwaters and the shore, erosion still continues to the east, with the beachside road regularly broken down by the force of the waves during winter storms.
The original plan for the harbour modernisation included the construction of a total of seven breakwaters, extending the protection to the east, and as we reported last October, local residents and businessmen had been lobbying for the completion of this plan. As a posting on the Haniotika Nea website on 29th June makes clear, with the approval of a planning study by the Chania Port Authority, this has now taken a step towards fruition:
Kolymbari: breakwaters to stop the erosion
A first step towards the construction of four more breakwaters at Kolymbari was taken with the receipt and approval of the relevant plan by the Ports Committee of the Port Authority of Chania.
Among those present at the meeting of the Ports Committee was the Mayor of Platanias Giannis Malandrakis, who told Haniotika Nea: “The plan was accepted, there were a few minor additions and now we will have to go to Athens to get it approved by the Special Environmental Inspection Service of the Ministry of the Environment and Energy, which may not be so easy, and after that the way is open for us to seek funding.”
The three breakwaters which were installed five years ago had the effect not only of stopping the erosion at Kolymbari, but also creating a very large expanse of beach. However, the erosion is continuing to the east.
“The four breakwaters will extend the anti-erosion protection towards the east and its possible that with a coastal engineering study we can adjust their dimensions so as to better confine the sand, so that the sandy beach stops spreading towards the sea,” the Mayor said.
More capacity in the harbour
Although classified as a fishing harbour, in recent years Kolymbari harbour has been used by many tourist and associated boats for visits to Menies, to Balos and the Gulf of Chania. The plan also contains provision for the construction of a pontoon like those in the Old Harbour in Chania, at the point where the crane is located, in order to increase the number of moorings. It is also proposed to extend the quay so that more and larger ships can tie up alongside.
