Larnaca acquires the image of a modern, European Municipality, with upgraded existing and new infrastructures, with services that make it more humane and functional, that serve its residents and visitors and that highlight its advantages, turning it into an attractive place to live , activity but also a unique tourist destination, the President of the Republic Nikos Anastasiadis said on Friday
In his greeting at noon at the opening of works in Larnaca, the President expressed particular satisfaction because as he explained "today, through the tour of the city, I personally realized the reborn Larnaca, which does not resemble at all the one of the previous decades, a Larnaca that is in obvious trajectory of growth and progress. A city which, through a series of public utility and development projects, implemented in recent years, now responds to the timeless requests and needs of its residents, who rightly had the demand to see their city reformed and become a center of economic, social, cultural and touristic reference'.
He added that “Larnaka is acquiring this very image of a modern, European Municipality, with upgraded existing as well as new infrastructures, with services that make it more humane and functional, that serve its residents and visitors and that highlight its advantages, turning it into an attractive place to live and work, but also a unique tourist destination”.
It is through the initiatives, he continued, "of the Mayor and the Municipal Council, the Development Committee, EVEL and those involved, that it became possible to mature important projects and to set the conditions for implementing or launching projects either through national resources or through co-financing".
At the same time, he expressed pride because, as he explained, "during the administration we are the first country to absorb European funds". If Larnaca is enjoying benefits today, it is because it had a Mayor with a vision and a Municipal Council that shared the vision, as a result of which projects became reality, he added.
As President Anastasiades said "the development path that the city of Zeno presents today is the result of the specific goals and planning we set, the zeal and efforts" paid by the Mayor and the Municipal Council "for the launch and implementation of state-of-the-art projects which have really reformed the Municipality. The most important of all, is that they have created the prospects for the continuation of the development that Larnaca presents».
In his greeting, the President referred to "flagship public utility projects with multiplying benefits for the Municipality and the city of Larnaca which for decades have been justified, but until now unfulfilled, requests of the Citizens of the city».
Among them, he said, was "the demolition and relocation of oil facilities" and the Government, despite the difficulties that arose, resolutely proceeded to deal with this particular problem".
Overall, he continued, "a an area of approximately 400 decares and a length of 3 kilometers on the seafront of Larnaca, which will bring about urban regeneration of the seafront of Larnaca» while there is already strong interest in residential, tourist and commercial developments.
Equally important, the President said, is the development of the plan for the area of the former refineries in the urban area of the Larnaca and Livadia Municipalities, while he referred to the treatment of the perennial problem that Larnaca faced from the destruction of residential areas by floods during the winter months .
He continued, saying that "progress in this area is evident, as despite the fact that there have been severe weather events with torrential rains in various areas of Larnaca, however the city has not been affected to the extent it was affected in the past, effectively coping with these extremes. phenomena'.
At the same time he continued "on the basis of the Municipality's planning, financing was secured from the Structural Funds for four important anti-flood projects with a budgeted cost of approximately 18 million euros, which include the construction of new anti-flood projects in the Municipality of Larnaca and more specifically on Alexandros Panagoulis, Agios Anargyros and Papanikolis Avenues.
In his greeting, President Anastasiades also referred to "the construction of the flood protection project in the Kamares area, amounting to 5 million euros, which is expected to start in June 2023. He also said that an important project expected to be completed in early 2024, amounting to 14 million euros, is the completion of the anti-flood dams in Aradippou, as well as the start of construction within April of the anti-flood channels in the Municipality of Livadi, with costs of 3 million.
Regarding the issue of the integrated development of the port and marina of Larnaca, the President of the Republic said that "this is the largest investment ever made in Cyprus, with an estimated total expenditure of 1.2 billion euros.
He called it "most important" the fact that "in addition to the creation of more than 4 thousand new jobs and the upgraded identity it will give to our tourism product, the additional estimated benefits for the economy are estimated to exceed 120 million euros per year during the period of full development".
He also said that "the key project of the unified development of the port and the marina of Larnaca, comes to be added to the visibly revitalized image presented by the city in recent years, an image that arises as a result of the implementation of a multitude of other development projects, which are completely reshaping Larnaca, actively collaborating in its transformation into a modern European city.
As the President said, since the assumption of governance, projects with a total cost of 157 million euros have been implemented or initiated in the Municipality of Larnaca with the decisive contribution of the government, either through the allocation of national funds or through co-financing from the European Union.
"So far, 30 projects with a total cost of more than 71 million euros have been completed, including the creation of the New Wing of the Larnaca General Hospital, the construction of a Traditional Municipal Market, the redevelopment of the square and beautification of views in "Zouchouri", the renovation of Archaeological Museum of Larnaca and the creation of a modern Regional Educational Research Center – Rescue» he said.
Regarding the creation of university infrastructure in Larnaca, the President said that “unfortunately, the rector's authorities of the University of Cyprus did not agree.” But the bottom line is that there was another comprehensive response from the university. The creation of the Center creates the prospects that with the maturation of opinions and the strengthening of the Center to make Larnaca a place of university presence».
At the same time, he continued, “they are under construction and the implementation of eight projects with a total cost of 86 million euros has been launched, including Phase C of the improvement of the Larnaca-Dekelia coastal road, the upgrading projects of the “Euribiadei High School”, the construction of a new Technical School of "Agios Lazaros" and the creation and construction of a complex of 32 residential units in the parish of Agios Nikolaos.
After stating that "development success is not only a product of government work" the President said that "it is the result of the cooperation, the vision of the Mayor, the Municipal Council, the growth factors of the city". However, he continued "it was not easy, as far as anyone can tell, without the determination of the Government" since as he explained "the projects were expected for decades, we needed fiscal discipline and fiscal flexibility to respond, we needed to justify what has been done".
He also noted that "with the close cooperation of the Municipality, the deputies and the city's actors, it became possible to have a reborn Larnaca today" adding that the multitude of projects give the right to every citizen of Larnaca "to feel proud of his city, as we have the right to feel proud of every city".
The President of the Republic also said that " handing over the next few days the government of the place, I sincerely feel that I did what it was possible to do in order to leave, not only those who voted for me, but all the citizens satisfied. Whether I have succeeded or not»? he said the world will judge it.
What he concluded about "I feel at peace is that I cooperated with all the local Authorities without discrimination, as long as there were visionary leaders, local leaders who created the perspectives for the Government to help us to regenerate this homeland".
In his own greeting, the Mayor of Larnaca, Andreas Vyras, said that with the completion of the projects that were inaugurated today, the first phase of the six projects that the strategic funding was secured by the previous Municipal Council and the current Municipal Council since 2017 is completed, continued the maturation and proceeded to build them.
He added that the total cost of the three projects amounted to approximately 14 million euros and contribute to the revitalization of the Larnaca Commercial Center. Furthermore, he said that with the unified development of the Port and the Marina and the expected arrival of cruise ships, the Commercial Center is expected to be strengthened to a great extent since 27 cruise ship arrivals with over 27,000 visitors in total are expected for 2023.
< p>Larnaca, Mr. Vyras continued, "is changing, becoming a modern and sustainably developed city, humane, safe and functional for its citizens, welcoming to local and foreign visitors and attractive to investors and the business sector. Even with the implementation of the Local Government reform, there is no doubt that with the integration of the Municipality of Larnaca with the Municipality of Livadia and the Community of Oroklini, the future of the new Municipality will be much more auspicious and hopeful.
From on Friday morning the President of the Republic inspected the works for the 3rd phase of the reconstruction of the Larnaca coastal road – Dekelia, in the Oroklini region. He then visited the area where the refineries were located on the Larnaca beach front – Dekelia, where he inspected the area and was informed about its development processes.
Afterwards, President Anastasiades inaugurated the renovated Archaeological Museum of Larnaca, inaugurated the new facilities of the city's Tennis Club, unveiled a plaque in Castle Square and inaugurated projects in Zouchuri Square.
Among others, the President of the Republic was accompanied on his visits by the Speaker of the Parliament, the Government Representative and the deputy Government Representative, the Ministers of Labour, Transport and Energy, the Deputy Minister of Culture, the Mayor of Larnaca and officials.
Source: KYPE
