The municipality of Larnaca is preparing to revive three long-standing requests to the government when Mayor Andreas Vyras meets Transport Minister Evi Tsolaki on 13 October.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 25 September before being postponed, will primarily focus on delays affecting the development of the city’s port and marina.
Concerns over port and marina timetable
Larnaca's local authority is expected to seek assurances that the timelines set out in the Port and Marina Development Roadmap, presented by the Cyprus Ports Authority last summer, will be respected.
Municipal officials are concerned about possible delays and will ask for a clear political commitment that the project will proceed on schedule.
The municipality will also request that the minister instruct the Cyprus Ports Authority to begin the first projects included in the roadmap, regardless of legal obstacles affecting the process.
Half-finished avenue returns to agenda
One of the city's longest-running infrastructure concerns is the incomplete Alexandrou Panagouli Avenue project.
The road was originally designed to connect Spyrou Kyprianou Avenue in Larnaca with the Rizoelia-Ayia Napa motorway, easing traffic congestion along the Larnaca-Dhekelia coastal road.
However, only the first phase was completed, reaching the area near Agios Savvas Church in Livadia in 2006.
Larnaca will ask the government to advance procedures for the preparation of construction plans for the second phase, which would extend the road from Livadia to the motorway.
Compensation for airport operations
A second long-standing demand concerns compensation measures linked to the operation of Larnaca Airport.
Despite repeated representations by municipal authorities over the years, the request has not received a positive response from either the Finance Ministry or the government.
The municipality also wants an update on any plans for redevelopment of the old Larnaca airport site, which has remained largely unused since airport operations ceased there in 2009.
Local officials argue that the area should be utilised in a way that benefits the city's economy.
Other projects on the list
During the meeting, Vyras is also expected to request a study on land reclamation and the creation of a beach along the eastern seafront, where petroleum and liquefied gas facilities were previously located.
The municipality will further seek faster progress on road resurfacing works in Oroklini, where roads were affected by construction linked to the third phase of the Larnaca-Dhekelia coastal road redevelopment.
