The installation of elevators has been completed in a total of 115 apartment buildings, out of the 368 existing apartment buildings that are in the Elevator Installation Program of the Ministry of the Interior, at a cost of twelve million euros, while at the same time, a project is underway to install elevators in another nine apartment buildings in the Kokkines government settlement in Nicosia .
how this programming has been modified due to the ktiZO project, Mr. Ioannou, analyzed the plan of the implementation of the program.
According to the information provided by the HYPES, today there are 193 elevators installed, of which 115 are in existing apartment buildings and 78 in new apartment buildings, in Government Settlements throughout Cyprus, which are maintained by the Department of Electromechanical Services, through private contractors with maintenance costs, for their repair and operation, in the order of 200,000 euros per year, an amount paid by the Department of Town Planning and Housing.
At the same time, as mentioned by Mr. Ioannou, contracts were signed for the Construction of wells Project for the installation of elevators in four existing Apartment Buildings in Athalassa and one in Agios Georgios, costing 821,511.72 euros plus VAT and for the Construction of wells Project from concrete and metal construction for the installation of elevators in three existing apartment buildings in Limassol Government Settlements (two in 'Makarios III' and one in 'Agios Ioannis')”, costing 649,337.30 euros plus VAT, for which a contract was awarded due to the fault of the Contractor on August 1, 2023.
Additionally, in order to overcome the problems faced by the Department, such as irrevocable consent from all unit owners, technical problems and others, the Program for the installation of elevators in all existing apartment buildings in the Government Settlements housing displaced persons, was joined to the ktiZO Grants Scheme, which was implemented by the Decision of the Council of Ministers on April 7, 2023.
The aim of the ktiZO Grants Scheme, according to the Minister of the Interior, is to implement a holistic solution to the management of the issue of static adequacy of the apartment buildings of the Government Settlements, in order to ensure the safety, health and improvement of the living conditions of the tenants, which they are mostly first-generation refugees, i.e. elderly refugees. Its purpose is to provide sponsorship to the beneficiaries of the apartments in 358 existing apartment buildings of the Government Housing Settlements for Displaced Persons, for the repair/reinforcement or reconstruction, if necessary, of their apartment buildings. It is noted that with the grant that the beneficiaries will receive, they will be able to install an elevator, with an additional grant of 90,000 euros, and to carry out improvement works in the apartment building where they live. In cases where the reconstruction of their residential units is required, the new apartment buildings will also include the installation of an elevator.
As the Minister of the Interior also mentions, the repair or reconstruction works of the apartment buildings will are carried out by the private construction sector, in which, in addition to the state sponsorship and the contribution of the beneficiaries of these apartments, a Special Incentive is given to provide an additional building factor to be used either in the Project itself or in another Project that the manufacturer is carrying out or will carry out in suitable areas, with the aim of sustainably financing the Project.
It is worth mentioning that the Sponsorship Plan will have a duration of ten years and a total cost of 130 million euros.
p>
Finally, Mr. Ioannou explains that with the involvement of the private construction sector, the possibility of parallel, simultaneous and rapid utilization of the ktiZO Grant Scheme by a large portion of beneficiaries, something which is practically impossible for the State Sector to implement.
