The Kalymnos Permanent Committee of the Technical Chamber of Greece (TEE) has unanimously voiced its strong objection to the exclusive appointment of external contractors for studies and services commissioned by the Municipality of Kalymnos and the Municipal Harbor Fund.

In a press release dated August 3, 2026, the Committee argues that this practice sidelines Kalymnos’ local scientific and engineering community, denying local professionals opportunities to contribute to projects and services directly concerning their own island.

The Committee calls on the relevant institutional authorities to formally acknowledge and register its protest letter, stressing the importance of recognizing and utilizing the qualified scientific professionals based on Kalymnos.

It has also requested publication of the statement by local media so that residents can be informed about an issue concerning both the equal professional treatment of Kalymnian engineers and the participation of local expertise in the island’s planning and development.

Kalymnos, August 3, 2026

To:

• The President and Board of Directors of the Kalymnos Municipal Port Fund
• The Mayor of Kalymnos
• The Kalymnos Municipal Council
• Local media outlets

Subject: The systematic marginalization of local scientific professionals through direct awards by the Kalymnos Municipal Port Fund

The Kalymnos Permanent Committee of the Technical Chamber of Greece (TEE), following a unanimous decision, submits this letter of protest, having observed with serious concern and disappointment what has now become an established practice by the Administration of the Kalymnos Municipal Port Fund regarding the commissioning of studies and the provision of services.

Having examined the recent decisions of the President of the Kalymnos Municipal Port Fund, we have identified a continuous and inexplicable preference for direct awards exclusively to professionals and engineering consultancy firms based outside Kalymnos. More specifically:

• At the end of 2025, a traffic study, with a budget of €18,416.79, was awarded directly to a company based in Athens.
• During the same period, a spatial planning study, also with a budget of €18,416.79, was awarded directly to a professional based in Thessaloniki.
• At the beginning of 2026, in January, seabed mapping and the recording of shipwrecks in the central port, with a budget of €24,783.88, were awarded to another company based in Thessaloniki.
• More recently, in May 2026, maritime tourism consultancy services, valued at €12,400.00, were awarded to a firm based in Rhodes.

We would like to recall that in April 2025, following a similar direct award by the Kalymnos Municipal Water and Sewerage Company (DEYAK), our Permanent Committee sent a letter written in an entirely collegial, moderate and constructive tone. At that time, we explicitly expressed our willingness to contribute—even in an advisory capacity—to the work of the island’s public bodies, while avoiding unproductive confrontations.

Unfortunately, we find that our appeals were ultimately ignored. There is continued recourse to direct awards and the systematic exclusion of local scientific professionals. Kalymnos’ engineers and consultants—who live, work, pay taxes and support the local economy—are being conspicuously disregarded.

We believe that the President and the Board of Directors of the Kalymnos Municipal Port Fund must immediately reconsider this practice by choosing procedures that are open and transparent to local professionals, so that projects are governed by ethical integrity, political propriety and social acceptance.

Once again, we declare that the active participation of local engineers is not merely a professional right, but above all a responsibility for the prosperity and progress of our island. We will not allow the perception to become established that Kalymnos is a privileged field for direct awards to consultants based elsewhere, when the island itself has highly qualified scientists.

For the Kalymnos Permanent Committee of the Technical Chamber of Greece

The President
Sakellarios G. Tsikouris