I am delighted that you are all with us today on this historic day for your region where the contract for the construction of a project you have been demanding for decades will be signed.
I remember your skepticism and concern during the meetings we had when I announced the timeline for the project's maturity and bidding. Several of you, perhaps all of you, I am sure, had your doubts as to whether the timelines would be met. After all, you have heard a lot over the past decades.
The important thing for you, as for every citizen, is that announcements and promises turn into deeds and actions and today another announcement by the President of the Republic, another important project, the Nicosia - Paleochori motorway, is on its way to being implemented.
Adequate connectivity, whether it is called air or road, is essential for the implementation and success of any strategy and of course the Nicosia - Paleochori motorway is essentially the foundation stone for the revitalisation of mountainous Nicosia and for the implementation of the mountainous areas strategy.
Dear all,
One of the things that we as a Government pride ourselves on is the fact that all the much awaited projects that local communities and stakeholders have been demanding and claiming for decades are now under construction. These are projects that the President of the Republic had announced and prioritised.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In recent years the development budget of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works has increased by 450%, from €32m.
The reason is simple, we have achieved and have under construction important and long-awaited projects, which have been demanded by local communities and stakeholders for decades.
Today, the projects under the responsibility of the Ministry of Transport exceed €1.9 billion and to this, if we add the €1.2 billion investment in Larnaca Port and Marina, these projects exceed €3.1 billion.
We delivered the Larnaca and Kyperounda hospitals, the Geroskipou bypass, the new Limassol stadium and the renovation of the listed building of the old Supreme Court as well as the Famagusta District Court and we signed and implemented the investment in Larnaca Marina and Port, the largest investment in our country today. We have also installed the photoluminescence system which has led to a drastic reduction in road fatalities.
Also under construction are the new Cyprus Museum in Nicosia, the Mental Health Centre, the Blood Centre, the Haemodialysis Unit in Paphos, the Central Land Registry building and many more.
At the same time, however, we have all the important and long-awaited road networks under construction, such as the Paphos - Polis, Limassol - Saitta, Astromeritis - Evrychou, the Nicosia perimeter motorway, the Yermasoyia - Akruda - Dihronas - Arakapa, Larnaca - Dhekelia, Deryneia - Sotera road networks, and today we are adding yet another one, the Nicosia - Paleochorio motorway.
The promises of the state to the communities of the region and the announcements of the President of the Republic are being implemented in practice, with substantial benefits for the communities of the surrounding area, but also for Pitsilia and for the Troodos region in general, as well as for the whole of Cyprus.
The implementation of this project is of particular importance and is part of the strategic objectives of the Ministry of Transport to complete the main road network of Cyprus, for the purposes of sustainable development and social cohesion, with an emphasis on facilitating the completion of the main road network of Cyprus. This project is also included in the National Mountain Community Development Strategy and was placed high on the Government's priorities, like many other important projects, as part of our policy to strengthen the infrastructure and development of our country.
This project will contribute.
- To counteract phenomena of urbanization of the economically active population, which will have more opportunities for residence and employment in the region and
- To achieve the overall development objectives of mountain areas, in correlation with the other policies of the State to support these areas.
On the part of this Government, there has been continuous and steady promotion of substantial actions for the revitalization and development of mountain areas, to ensure their viability and to safeguard the monocultures of these areas.
This phase of the Nicosia - Paleochori motorway involves the construction of the Anayia - Agrokipia section, approximately 8.1 km long, with four (4) lanes, a level junction at Ergates, unlevel junctions at the junction of Agios Ioannis and Malounta and a level terminal junction near the junction of Agrokipia - Mitseros. It also includes three (3) bridges, as well as above and below ground vehicular accesses to connect existing roads.
I would also like to mention that at the European Union Transport Council we succeeded in including in the trans-European transport networks a major extension of the Nicosia - Paleochorion motorway to Agros and Kyperounta.
The Contract is signed, on behalf of the Government, by the Deputy Director of the Department of Public Works, Ms, on behalf of the company 'IACOVOU - CYFIELD JOINT VENTURE', Mr George Iacovou, on behalf of 'IACOVOU BROTHERS (CONSTRUCTIONS) LIMITED' and Mr George Chrysochoos, on behalf of 'CYFIELD CONSTRUCTION LIMITED'.
The implementation of the project is scheduled to start in March 2023, with an execution period of 42 months and a cost of €77,643.93 including VAT.
At the same time, the procedures for the maturation of the section Anthoupoli - Anayia, 7.5 km long, at a cost of approximately €90 million, which falls under the Nicosia Perimeter Motorway project (Phase C), are being promoted. For this section, co-financing approval from the Cohesion Fund and the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) is expected for implementation within the programming period 2024-2027.
I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate and thank the Department of Public Works, as well as all stakeholders and government departments for their efforts to make the implementation of this project possible.
I am confident that, with the contribution of all parties involved, the consortium of contractors, supervision, relevant agencies and local authorities, we will have a successful implementation of the project, with excellent quality and within the schedules and terms of the Contract.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I thank the Commons for their cooperation. We have turned words into actions. In a few years, when we enjoy the benefits of this project, we will all say we were present on this historic day of contract signing.
(ΘΦ/ΜΓ/ΙΚ)
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