Newsroom
A controversial plan to house young migrants in the Lycavittos neighborhood of the capital has been canceled following intense pushback from local residents.
The Deputy Ministry of Migration and International Protection confirmed it will drop the project completely after neighborhood groups organized to block the facility.
Ministry officials stated the site was intended to be a temporary, state-renovated transit home managed by the International Organization for Migration. The facility was designed to hold a maximum of 30 vulnerable, unaccompanied minors who were awaiting official repatriation.
According to government sources, the building was never intended to become a permanent residential center, and officials denied that a long-term asylum facility was ever on the table for the area.
The cancellation follows a public campaign by a Lycavittos neighborhood committee, which issued a sharp statement opposing the government's plans.
Local residents accused the ministry of attempting to rush the project through without public consultation or prior notification to families living nearby. The group argued that authorities failed to evaluate how the center would impact the immediate community and the neighboring Lycavittos Primary School.
Before the government announced its retreat, the resident association had stated they were prepared to launch legal challenges to block the facility's construction.
