The inauguration of the first section of the new Nicosia ring road took place on Wednesday 6 November.
Alexis Vafiadis, head of the Cypriot Ministry of Transport, Communications and Public Works, and other senior officials attended the inauguration.
This is a key development project for both the transport and economic growth of our country. Phase A, consisting of 7.5 km of four-lane motorway with 10 km of connecting roads, has finally been completed despite global and regional challenges that have affected the construction sector,' said the Minister.
Vafiades also spoke of the support of the European Commission and its enormous contribution to the project. He stressed that thanks to the joint efforts, congestion in the capital will be reduced and the journey out of the city will now take no more than 10 minutes. In addition, all of this will lead to a reduction in the amount of pollutants emitted into the atmosphere by cars. The project, which cost around €55 million, was co-financed by the EU's Connecting Europe Fund and national funds.
With each completed phase, the new ring road will act as a hub connecting Nicosia's main motorways, reducing the volume of vehicles entering the capital by 25%. In particular, it will relieve traffic in areas such as Tseri and Lakatamia and improve road safety standards. With the new infrastructure, we are not only connecting roads, but also communities and businesses, contributing to the development of areas that have long been constrained by traffic congestion," said Vafeades.
It is recalled that the first phase included the construction of a section of road from the Limassol-Nicosia motorway (near the Idalio industrial zone) to the junction of the new road with the Strovolosa-Tseri avenue near the Lakatamia industrial zone.
The new road has four lanes and is 7.5 kilometres long. There are also 10 kilometres of adjacent tracks. The new motorway has four interchanges: two in the area of the Idalio industrial zone, one in the area of the Ceri industrial zone (near the Olympic shooting range) and a roundabout at Strovolos-Ceri avenue. The works were carried out by the construction company Cyfield.
It should be noted that the above works are part of a larger project aimed at solving the traffic problems faced by residents and visitors to Nicosia. Two further phases are planned. It is not yet known who will carry out the further widening of the Nicosia motorway. Earlier, the capital's municipality announced a tender to find a contractor. The results are expected to be summarised in September 2024 and a contract with the winning contractor is expected to be signed around the end of January 2025. The project implementation period will be 36 months. Barring force majeure, all works will be completed by the end of January - beginning of February 2028.