ATHENS — The Migration and Asylum Ministry intends to build a migration center at Akra Pachy, an area on the island of Chios with a property that belongs to the state, Minister Notis Mitarachi said on Thursday.

"Again, we will discuss this with local authorities in order to guarantee the best possible plan, and the necessary compensatory measures" to the island, he added.

Mitarachi reviewed the migration crisis in Greece and underlined that the islands, as border areas of both Greece and the EU, cannot keep bearing the load of caring for the influx of migrants on behalf of all of Europe.

"Whoever arrives here cannot stay here," he said of the island. "Chios is borderland, it is remote Greece. We therefore need a safe and closed or supervised facility, out of the urban network. This (will allow) the shutdown of VIAL hotspot and the dozens of apartments in Chios proper and in Agios Minas. We must be able to offer everyone safety – both asylum applicants and workers, and the local community at large," he added.

As he reiterated, the construction on the new facility will begin "after the further decongestion of VIAL, per our commitment."