31.03.2022
The municipality of the city aims to create a new Larnaca through a multi-faceted project, an important part of which is the integrated development of the port and marina, which is expected to add 120 million euros to the country’s GDP.
As Mayor Andreas Viras emphasizes, the city will become a new place for investment and business, entertainment and tourism, offering its residents an improved quality of life.
Larnaca is now considered the new star of Cyprus as its transformation continues. What is the philosophy of the actions that govern it?
Larnaca has indeed been on a growth trajectory in recent years, which is based on a triptych that has been my vision since day one: Larnaca is humane and functional for its citizens, welcoming for locals and foreign visitors, and attractive for investors and entrepreneurs. This triptych is based on sustainable development.
Achieving the goals is the result of a collective effort and a collective demand for what the city of Larnaca is entitled to. Of course, we have a long way to go. With completed projects, with those to be completed soon, and with the planning of young people, a new face of the city will be shaped with the aim of making it prosperous for all.
What projects would you call key for the new look of the city?
First, the integrated development of the port and marina is a multi-faceted green label project that is expected to contribute €120 million in GDP growth and create more than 4,000 jobs.Combined with the relocation of oil and gas installations from the coastal part of Larnaca, an opportunity is now created for the redesign and implementation of the site plan for the former oil refineries in the urban area of the municipalities of Larnaca and Livadia.
This is a project that introduces modern methods of active urban planning such as urban land reclamation, neighborhoods, multifunctionality, and promotes sustainability, sustainable mobility and a circular economy under the auspices of integrated urban regeneration, which includes environmental, ecological, social, environmental, cultural and other options.
What is the place of the blue economy in the entire scenario?
The blue economy is a source of growth and progress, which is greatly facilitated by the activities of the Cyprus Maritime and Maritime Institute, which is a regional, institutional and scientific nucleus that promotes scientific and business excellence in their respective fields. Also key is the recent vote on local government reform. Now, as municipalities, we will have increased responsibility and be able to pursue meaningful policies thanks to our administrative and financial independence from the central state. All of the above make up the new face of Larnaca.
How did the coronavirus pandemic, and then the war in Ukraine, affect the plans for the improvement of the city?
Unfortunately, we are at a very critical moment for humanity, especially in connection with the latest developments in the war in Ukraine.Its extensions certainly concern us, and it is even more certain that they will affect us more strongly in the near future. The pandemic has caused many problems in various areas. One of the hardest hit, no doubt, were department stores. Some of them, unfortunately, were closed. Our goal is to change this situation by using both completed and unfinished projects in the mall.
What projects will stimulate the mall?
Some of the projects that will keep the mall alive are as follows: Multi-Purpose Creativity and Culture Center (former Larnaca Club), which also houses the Folk Art Centre. As well as the Universal Multifunctional Center for Social Protection and Employment, the Municipal Market and the restoration of the exterior of the Zukhuri complex, which will be completed in the near future, the repair of streets and facilities for the disabled. Other new projects planned for the mall include also the renovation of Alki Square and the Acropolis, as well as the paving of Ermou, Zenonos Kitios streets and all the vertical streets connecting the mall to the Finikoudes waterfront façade.
In addition, there is a very strong interest in the creation of new hotel complexes, and a total of 25 applications have been installed, approved and considered in the municipality.
But we don’t stop there. The Municipality of Larnaca, in order to further help and also to save the mall, undertook
