Tweet

Email

President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiades announced on Thursday a number of new projects for the Nicosia District worth 420 million euro. 

The President was speaking at an event, during which he presented the progress of the projects the government had planned in 2015 and announced new projects for Cyprus’ capital and the Nicosia district. 

President Anastasiades was accompanied by members of his Cabinet and the event was attended, inter alia, by mayors and other local administration officials, as well as Members of the Parliament. After the President’s speech, a discussion took place. 

In his speech, the President said that the total expenditure for the Nicosia district, including funding for research and development (56 million) and grants for the University of Cyprus from 2015 onwards (147.2), amounts to € 840.6 million. 
The total cost of new projects reaches 420 million euro, the total projects cost announced in 2015 and have been finalized or are under development amount to 173.9 million and projects launched from 2015 onwards and are either completed or in the process of being implemented reach € 43.5 million. 

He also said that it would not have been possible to implement those projects if the government had not followed a prudent and responsible fiscal policy, which, without the increase of taxes has lead not only to the exit from the economic programme, but also to the creation of healthy growth rates, which surpasses 3.5%. 

Moreover, he recalled that the government has decided to undertake the repayment of the guaranteed loans of the Local Authorities, totaling 178 million euros. 

The President called upon the House of Representatives to speed up the approval of the relevant bill regarding the reform of the local administration. 

New projects announced by the President for Nicosia - which have been included in the state budget for 2018 - are among others, the construction of a new building of the Parliament worth 71.4 million euro, funds worth 15 million euro for the research centre RISE (co-funded with the EU, total cost 50 million), the renovation and upgrading of the former Supreme Court’s building, with a cost of 5.6 million and the construction of the first phase of the new peripheral motorway of Nicosia worth 51.2 million. 

In his speech, the President said that in 2015 he had announced a project that would solve the long-term water problem of Nicosia with the transfer of water from the Vasilikos desalination plant. 

The project, he said, is underway and to date 12 million euro have been spent, while another 43 million have been included in the Medium-Term Financial Framework 2018-2020. 

"This is the largest water work in Cyprus, which will cover the water supply needs of the city of Nicosia and of 28 communities," he concluded. 

Source: Stockwatch