The Council of Museums of Ministry of Culture unanimously gave a positive opinion on the structural and electrical preliminary designs and the museological design concerning the conversion of the old building of the Silo (SILO) in Museum of Underwater Antiquities, in Piraeus. The financing for the preliminary studies was undertaken by Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation, i.e. the shipowner Panos Laskaridis. The good relations he has (also) with the Ministry of Culture have not changed, even though two prosecutors are investigating the case of the illegal salvage of two ancient objects from the seabed of Antikythera. This issue was first raised by Ef.Syn. in August 2020, but since then, the Ministry of Culture has not provided any information, «looking the other way» or attempting to forget about it.
The Minister of Culture, Lina Mendoni welcomed the opinion (accompanied by numerous comments from members) and thanked the donor in the relevant press release (18/1/22). However, we did not learn the amount of the donation.. The project to convert the Silo into a Maritime Museum has been included in the Recovery Fund and will be financed with €75 million. The amount of money available to the donor is a secret that the Ministry of Culture and Sports is not revealing to Greek citizens.
The Enalion Museum is an important project that has been in the works for many years and needs to be moved forward and completed. However, three questions arise.
a) First of all, what is happening with the Silo building? Although there are three successive ministerial decisions, the latest by Myrsini Zorba in 2019, which explicitly provide for the transfer of the building to the Greek State, as it belongs to COSCO, the Ministry of Culture has not secured it. And because It is inconceivable to operate a museum with archaeological finds in a building that belongs to the Chinese., the Minister of Culture must explain whether a concession will be necessary, what solution has been found, or whether everything is still up in the air. In any case The Enalion Museum is not included in Cosco's master plan.
b) The approval of the donation for the preliminary study, undertaken by the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation, was signed by the Minister of Culture on December 14, 2021. A month later, on January 17, 2022, the issue was placed on the agenda of the Council of Museums. And as the «Unifying Action Movement at the Ministry of Culture» asked in its announcement, is it possible that in one month ’[...] architectural, structural, E/M, museological preliminary study and modification of the Silo building program« could have been completed? Of course not! What has happened? Quite simply They had commissioned Laskaridis to pay for the study and work on it long ago, without any decision, so... illegally!».
According to the report, the Ministry of Culture worked for a year with an architectural firm, which was paid by the donor even though the donation had not been officially accepted. Is this legal and good practice? Does this kind of management violate the legal and administrative framework, ultimately exposing the Minister of Culture?;
c) In March 2012, an international open architectural competition was announced with the theme of redesigning the Silo and its surroundings into a Maritime Museum. Eighty-nine proposals were submitted, and the first prize was awarded to a proposal by six Greek architects. The current status of the competition prize is unknown. Is the architectural study still valid or not?;
