Karousos: Cyprus won subsidies and exemptions for air transport

Cyprus has achieved solutions to reduce the effects of the implementation of EU targets for reducing air pollution, as stated by the Minister of Transport, Communications and Works Yannis Karousos, during the presentation of his Ministry's budget to the Parliament's Finance Committee.< /p>

Referring to the declaration of air connectivity until 2027 at the EU level, he said that after a study and relevant proposals, Cyprus achieved solutions that were approved with recognition of the specificity of Cyprus and the island regions. Specifically, the difference between the price of conventional fuel and biofuel will be subsidized 100%, with the provision of free emission trading rights for airlines. There were also, he said, some exemptions for airline refueling for countries such as Cyprus and Malta, while there was a commitment by the European Commission to prepare a report on the impact of its pollution policy on island connectivity in 2027.

Mr. Karousos further stated that the liberalization of airport ground handling has brought a benefit to airlines due to a 50% reduction in costs. He highlighted the positive results from the implementation of the new €165m incentive plans for 2023-27 and said that the three planes announced to be based in Cyprus will bring an increase of 1.3m seats.

Due to these developments, he said, in Cyprus there was no increase in ticket prices as in other countries.

The goal, he said, is to increase passenger traffic by 52% by 2027 from 9 million euros to 13.7 million in 2027.

He noted that in terms of air routes there were 145 routes for 2022 plus seven announced a few days ago. He also spoke of an increasing trend in cruises that from 9 thousand bookings in 2019 reached 188 thousand in 2022, while for 2023 there are calls for 207 cruise ship arrivals compared to 106 in 2019.

The Minister also referred to the development of the port and Marina of Larnaca, an investment of 1.2 billion. euros and said that the benefits will reach 120 million euros per year, 600 berths and 4000 jobs will be created.

Increased budget for 2023

The The Minister stated that the budget for 2023 amounts to 469.45 million euros which include 35 million euros in co-financed projects, while he noted that there is an upward trend in the Ministry's budget, which since 2015 has reached approximately 82%. biggest development policy that our country has ever had and that important and long-awaited projects and investments, which the President of the Republic had announced and which have been a demand of local communities in all provinces for decades, are to be implemented, he said.

He noted that the total of development projects that have been completed or are under execution and under announcement is 1.78 billion euros. The project budget in the Recovery and Resilience Plan for 2022-26 is 143.8 million euros, of which 89 million concern the Ministry of Transport and 54.8 million concern other Ministries.

He also stated that the percentage implementation of development expenditure is expected to exceed 82% in 2022, which is one of the highest percentages in recent years.

Referring to the main projects under execution, he mentioned, among others, the Astromeritis highway – Evrichou, on the Polis highway – Paphos, in the Nicosia Perimeter, in the photo-marking system, in the streets of Larnaca – Savior of Decelia and Deryneia.

Among the main projects expected to be announced in 2023, the new migrant center in Limnes, the buildings that will house the three Ministries of Interior, Energy and Transport, the state chemistry, the new building of the Legal Service and the project to solve the sedimentation in Pissouri and the second phase of the perimeter.

He also said that the project for the new Cyprus Museum with a cost of 144 million euros will be announced and signed before the end of the year, while the project for the Palaichori highway – Nicosia will be signed at the end of January.

Still within the framework of the Resilience and Recovery Plan, intelligent transport systems will be implemented, electric vehicle recharging infrastructure will be created and the related market will be regulated with 10 double rapid recharging points and 1000 recharging points by 2026. Sustainable mobility projects will also be carried out while electrification is promoted in public sector with the purchase of electric vehicles.

New plans for subsidy and withdrawal of vehicles

The Minister also announced a new subsidy plan for the purchase of electric vehicles amounting to 30 million. which will be announced in the coming weeks and a plan to withdraw polluting vehicles in the amount of 15 million euros.

He also mentioned that for the new electrification plan, the process is changing and those interested will have to attach a certificate from importers that they were informed about the prices, since in the previous plans only 20-25% were implemented.

Goal , as the minister mentioned, all new registrations are to be electric vehicles in 2035.

Regarding public passenger transport, he mentioned new contracts in all provinces, new buses, an increase in the frequency of routes.

He also said that the perimeter road is expected to contribute to the traffic problem with a 25% reduction in vehicles, the flexible hours in public which will be between 7-9 am, the expansion of the application of door-to-door busing of students , the new regional traffic control system and the introduction of intelligent transport systems.

He also referred to a €72m scheme for bus shelters which is being tendered.

He also said that in public transport there were 22 million trips in 2019 and it is expected to exceed 24 million trips in 2022.

The light signaling system is a solution to accidents

In terms of road safety he mentioned measures such as the installation of light marking systems in all cities, the road network scanning vehicle, the fix Cyprus application, the introduction of periodic checks for mopeds and motorcycles and the promotion of various legislative arrangements pending in the Commission Transport.

He said that in Nicosia the photo-marking system played its role in reducing violations and accidents and now the same results are expected for the other provinces. Regarding the mobile cameras, he said that the networks they will be on will be announced so that people can be careful.

Placements of MPs

The Chairman of the Transport Committee, MP of DIPA – Cooperation Marinos Mousioutas said that indeed there are many projects that have been started and planned and for this fact he expressed satisfaction. At the same time, he stated that he asked the Minister questions about the traffic problem and how the sustainable mobility project can be accelerated in all regions. He also said that the light-signaling system worked well but there are vulnerabilities that need to be addressed, such as the issue with the use of bus lanes. Regarding the issue of Makariou Avenue, he said that the Minister announced that an independent Commission will be appointed that will look at the issue and decide whether the problems in the area have increased or decreased.

DISY Member of Parliament Fotini Tsiridou expressed her satisfaction with the major projects being promoted in all the provinces and made special reference to the highways. He expressed satisfaction for the promotion of the new Cypriot museum with a budget of 144 million and signature in December 2022. He also expressed satisfaction for the air connectivity with all the steps promoted by the Ministry of Transport. He also noted the large growth in the cruise sector. At the same time, he said that respect for the environment and the promotion of electric mobility is a fact with the highest funds in all of Europe. of the Ministry was at 45%, while he noted that those announced last year are also included in this year's budget to be announced again. The expenses he mentioned are recurring funds that have been announced for years, remain on paper and are transferred from year to year. He spoke of the Government's inability to announce important projects and provide substantial solutions to problems such as traffic chaos and road safety issues. He added that improvements were presented by AKEL for the vehicle withdrawal plans and for electric vehicles.

Source: KYPE

Source: www.sigmalive.com

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