Ladies and Gentlemen ,

 It is a great pleasure to participate in  the opening session of your conference which is dealing with the Coal Combustion Products and  their numerous uses in construction materials as well as in other sectors. Fly ash, as a by-product of coal  combustion , over the years has  found its use mainly in cement production with very good results.

Managing economically these by-products of coal burning,  is very important for our environment.

This has been achieved by the research done over the years by  the coal and cement industry as well as Universities and Research Centers around the world.

Looking at the program of the presentations I realize the great effort of the scientific society to find even more ways to use these products as well as improve the understanding of their role in the materials they are incorporated with. This gives me great pleasure because I realize that the effort is going on solving difficult problems.

Our Ministry responsible for a great number of construction works over the years and with increased environmental sensitivity has been supporting uses of these materials in the works.

Our Public Works Laboratory , hand in hand with the materials industry and construction companies,  has been testing , controlling and approving these materials as they are being used in the works .

We are always open to suggestions for improved materials, using industry by-products, especially, if disposed to the environment would create problems.

Additionally , the present economic situation , not only in Greece ,requires efficient handling of such products in order to lower the overall cost of the materials, and of the works. Raw materials worldwide are being rapidly depleted and saving resources is critical for their availability to future generations at a rational cost.

Concluding I want to congratulate you for organizing this congress whose object brings multifaceted beneficial results to our society helping the way to Sustainable Development on this Earth of limited resources.

I wish you a successful conference and as a child of this city I welcome you to Thessaloniki, with great pleasure,

Have a good time , in my city.

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