It is a special honour for me to be here today because, as a person who comes from local government, I have tried to be close to the communities, to listen to problems and to give solutions.
In recent years, the development budget of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works has increased by 450%, from €32 million in 2015 to €176 million in 2023.
We have succeeded, through hard work, to have under construction important and long-awaited projects that have been a demand of local communities and stakeholders for decades. These are projects announced by the President of the Republic and which were among his priorities.
Today, the projects under the responsibility of the Ministry of Transport exceed €1.9 billion and if we add to this amount the investment in Larnaca Port and Marina, amounting to €1.2 billion, these projects exceed €3.1 billion.
We have supported more than 85 communities and municipalities across Cyprus, with sponsorships exceeding €19 million.We proceeded with the conservation and restoration of 151 Ancient Monuments and churches with the full coverage of the cost of €5.78 million. We proceeded with the renovation and upgrading of the Paphos and Larnaca Museums, established the Museum of Ledron, implemented the consolidation of the archaeological sites of Kato Paphos and have the New Cyprus Museum on track to be a jewel in the cultural heritage of our country. On our own initiative, we established free admission to the Museums under the jurisdiction of the Department of Antiquities.
We have promoted and have a significant number of long-awaited projects, which have been a requirement of local authorities and communities for decades. All major and long-awaited road networks are under construction, such as the Pafos-Polis, Limassol-Saïtta, Astromeritis-Eurichos and the Nicosia perimeter motorways, the road networks Yermasogeia-Akruda-Diarounas-Arakapa, Larnaca-Dekeleia, and Deryneia-Sotiras, the Nicosia-Palichorio motorway project (Anayia-Agrokipia section).
We also achieved and integrated into the trans-European transport networks the extension of the internal network in Cyprus, with the extension of the Nicosia-Palaichorio motorway up to Agros and Kyperounta. This is an important European success as in the future someone from Limassol will be able to travel to Nicosia via this road network.
I would like to thank you for your decision to honour me. The fact that the communities, the mayors, the local government people, who are close and close to the citizen, honour me and recognise the work that has been achieved in the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works in recent years says a lot about me.
I have been, am and will always remain by your side.
(ΘΓ/ΝΓ)
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