President Anastasiades' ambition is to revitalise rural areas[/B], Minister of Transport, Communications and Works Yiannis Karousos said, adding that the government has budgeted more than €370 million in development projects until 2024.
"The government of Nicos Anastasiades has for years identified the need to strengthen and support rural areas. The President of the Republic himself seeks to revitalize rural areas, so that the conditions for attracting young families, investors and entrepreneurs for permanent living and professional activity can be created," Karousosos said in his address at the "Per-Viomas" festival in Dora.
He also pointed out that in order to achieve this goal, in 2019, for the first time since the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus, the Government adopted the National Strategy for the Development of Mountain Communities, aiming to give real and substantial support to mountainous and remote areas to enable them to develop in terms of tourism, culture, social and economic development.
He said that an integral part of the development of mountain areas is the improvement of the road network infrastructure and the accessibility and connectivity of these areas with urban centres. The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works is working on the construction of the Limassol-Saitta motorway in the area of the mountainous Limassol District, with a total length of 22.5 km, at an estimated cost of €198 million. The design is being promoted in three phases and work on phase A1 started in September 2020 and is expected to be completed around the end of 2023, including the construction of a motorway section of approximately 3,7 km, he added
According to the Minister of Transport, the budgeted amount for the three-year period 2022-2024 for development projects in rural and mountain communities exceeds €370 million, an increase of €125 million compared to the three-year period 2019-2021.
At the same time, he said, major road network projects that have been long-standing and long-standing demands of the residents of rural and mountainous communities totalling €350 million are being put on track for implementation for the benefit of the development of these areas.
In relation to the promotion and promotion of mountainous areas as tourist destinations, Mr Karousos said that through the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, the Government has included four projects in the "Cyprus_to_Tomorrow" programme, aimed at developing agrotourism and other forms of tourism and increasing the number of visitors to these areas. In this context, through targeted initiatives to promote local products, services and resources, we are strengthening tourism businesses with education and training of staff, fully utilising and upgrading the Mountain Sports Centres and other businesses, with the aim of strengthening the tourism product offered in mountainous areas and establishing rural communities as full-time destinations for alternative forms of tourism.
In addition, in cooperation between the Ministry of Interior and the Office of the Commissioner for the Development of Mountain Communities, a specific housing policy has been developed, with a tripling of expenditure for 2022, in order to create the prospects for the revitalisation of the Cypriot countryside and mountain areas.
"Despite the economic impact caused by the health crisis and the war in Ukraine, the Government has chosen to support home ownership in mountainous areas and the countryside, especially for young couples and young families," the Minister of Transport concluded.
Source: CNA
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