The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works is handing over a legacy of projects with a total value of 3.1 billion euros to the next government, Minister Yannis Karousos said on Friday, during an event to present the report of the Ministry's work over the last three years.
As Mr. Karousos pointed out, the assumption of his duties in 2020 essentially coincided with the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the biggest crisis, as he said, of the modern era, which led to the adoption of unprecedented measures, such as the closure of airports, but and caused intense uncertainty regarding the progress of the announced projects and its effects on the country's economy in general.
Cyprus, he said, was the first country in the EU to draw up and implement an action plan for the reopening of airports, while offering a set of important incentives to airlines to continue and transfer their activities to Cyprus, while praising the cooperation of all involved agencies in the efforts to repatriate Cypriot citizens from abroad.
According to the Minister, in the three years 2020-2023, the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works had under its control projects worth 1.9 billion euros, while if the development of the port and marina of Larnaca is added, the largest, as he said, development project in Cyprus at the moment, amounting to 1.2 billion, the total value of the projects under the responsibility of the ministry reaches 3.1 billion euros.
The Ministry currently has the highest budget in its history, amounting to 466 million euros, Mr. Karousos continued, recording an increase of approximately 50% compared to 2013, which has been steadily manifested from 2015 onwards, following the overall development path of country, while a similar picture is presented by the Ministry's development expenditure, which has increased by two and a half times compared to 2013.
“All the major projects announced by the President of the Republic are under construction,” the Minister emphasized, referring to the development of the marina and port of Larnaca, which will create 4,000 new jobs and contribute 120 million to the domestic national economy. product, with the first benefits already arising from the competitive conditions created with the port of Limassol.
He added that the projects under construction also include the Cyprus Museum in Nicosia, the largest project of the state budget today, the Astromeritis-Eurychos, Polis Chrysochous-Paphos and Limassol-Saitta highways, the Nicosia ring road, the new traffic light system, the roads of Larnaca -Dekelia and Deryneia-Sotiras, the Pan-Cypriot Blood Center, the hospital in Larnaca, the Limassol stadium, courts and health centers all over Cyprus were completed.
Mr. Karousos also said that in the coming months the procedures for the construction of the Migrant Center “Limnes” in Menogeia, the housing of the Ministries of Interior, Transport and Justice in three new buildings, the new buildings of the State Chemistry and the Legal Service will proceed , the support plan in Pissouri and the expansion of the port in Latsi.
In the area of connectivity, Mr. Karousos first mentioned the 474% increase in cruise ship passengers compared to 2021, with 159 calls cruise ships to be registered in 2022 and 207 booked for 2023.
Regarding air connectivity, the Minister said that despite the loss of the markets of Russia and Ukraine, passenger traffic in 2022 reached 82% of that of 2019, with 147 routes from 52 airlines to 48 countries, while the target for 2023 is to surpass the performance of 2019, towards which measures were taken such as the liberalization of airport ground services, which entails a reduction of aircraft handling costs by 50%, and new air connectivity incentives worth €165 million for the next five years, aiming to increase traffic to 13.7 million passengers in 2027 from 9.2 million in 2022.
At the European level, Mr. Karousos underlined, Cyprus upgraded its presence in the EU Council of Transport Ministers, achieving, within the framework of the Fit for 55 objectives, the approval of a reward mechanism for the use of sustainable aviation fuels and the recognition of the country's uniqueness as an island state, which means that the airlines that will refuel in Cyprus will not have additional costs. In addition, the city of Larnaca was included in the Trans-European Transport Network as a large urban center for co-financing purposes, while the Nicosia-Paleichori road was extended to Agros, enabling a future connection with the Limassol-Saitta highway.
Regarding road transport, the Minister referred to the approval for the first time of a policy framework for electrification, with the national goal of 25% of new vehicle registrations being electric by 2030 and 100% by 2035, while he also mentioned in the action plan to increase the use of the bicycle, which was a great success.
Regarding traffic Mr. Karousos said that a series of measures were taken, firstly the construction of new road networks, which are expected to contribute to reducing traffic congestion at the entrance to Nicosia by 25% by the end of 2023, secondly the installation of smart lights of traffic in Nicosia and Limassol, which is expected to bring about a 10-35% improvement in traffic, thirdly, a new public transport system with 23 million estimated trips in 2023, new routes and infrastructure, and fourthly, flexible hours in the public service between 7 and 9 a.m., which will bring an additional traffic improvement of 6%.
In the field of road safety, he noted the steps that have been taken in the direction of preventing fatal accidents, with 2022 being the year with the lowest number of deaths from road collisions in history with 37. He indicated the Strategic Plan 2021 – 2030, the increase of the budget of the Road Safety Unit from 150,000 to 1 million euros, the strengthening of the actions of the Road Safety Council in cooperation with the involved bodies and the Grant Schemes for Protective Equipment for Motorcyclists, while with regard to promotion and information activities he singled out the successful institution of the Road Ambassadors Safety and the obligation to display road safety messages in advertisements related to vehicles or alcohol.
The Ministry's work in the last three years has also been characterized by a number of reforms, added the Minister, such as the digitization and automation of the Department's procedures of Road Transport, the annulment of the decision for it name of Post Offices and the preparation of a new strategic plan for the post offices, the amendment of the Electricity Legislation with the cooperation of the Electromechanical Service and the upgrading of the “Zinos” Search and Rescue Coordination Center.
Closing, Mr. Karousos thanked the President of the Republic for the trust he showed in him, as well as the general managers, his partners and all the staff of the Ministry for their valuable contribution to the work of the Ministry in the last three years, adding that the results and the first benefits of the projects under construction will begin to be perceived by the citizens soon.
