Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is with great pleasure that I, in turn, welcome you to the Cyprus International Exhibition Centre for the opening of the Federation of Employers and Industrialists (OEB) exhibitions "Savenergy", "Envirotec", "Waste and Recycling", "Constructions" and "Electron". Five specialized exhibitions, which I am sure that their visitors - professionals and non-professionals alike - will find particularly useful, since they aim to inform them about the new technologies and solutions offered in the Cypriot market, in areas that are now of interest to all of us: renewable sources and energy saving, water management and treatment, construction and electrical installations, recycling and the circular economy. To this end, the Recovery and Resilience Plan "Cyprus _ Tomorrow" includes a coherent package of costed reforms and public investments, with a horizon for implementation until 2026, which will contribute to strengthening Cyprus' resilience and long-term growth. The reforms undertaken by the Ministry of Energy are already being implemented and include, among others, the Grant Schemes to encourage the use of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) and energy efficiency measures in public and local authorities, as well as the creation of a digital one-stop-centre for the licensing of RES projects and the facilitation of energy upgrades.
Particular emphasis is also placed on the electricity market with 'Cyprus _ Tomorrow' providing for expenditure on both the necessary management system for the competitive electricity market and the installation of smart electricity meters by the Distribution System Operator. In addition, funding is included for the Common Interest Project "EuroAsia Interconnector", the electricity interconnection between Cyprus - Greece - Israel, which will bring about the end of our country's energy isolation and cleaner electricity production.
Today - and I think this is of particular interest to exhibitors and visitors to the exhibitions we are launching - our Ministry operates a number of Grant Schemes to encourage the use of Renewable Sources and Energy Saving measures in businesses and homes, with increased subsidy rates for vulnerable consumers. In particular, for residential buildings, with grants totalling €106.5 million, we have open Projects for their energy upgrading, as well as thermal insulation of roofs and/or installation of photovoltaic systems for the production of electricity for self-consumption and for charging electric or hybrid vehicles. In parallel, we are running a €9 million Project to encourage energy upgrading by local authorities and wider public sector bodies, as well as the "Save - Upgrade in Businesses and other Institutions" Project, with a total budget of €40 million.
Friends,
I don't want to bore you further. Let me just congratulate the OEB for organizing these remarkable exhibitions and wish the exhibitors and their visitors every success.
Thank you for your attention.
(GA/EP)
Contents of this article including associated images are owned by PIO
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
Source
