New measures introduced by the Ministry of the Interior are aimed at unlocking landlocked properties and enabling the development of land that has remained unused due to the absence of registered road access, according to Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou.
Speaking on Politis Radio 107.6 & 97.6, Ioannou said 112 rural roads have already been registered since the beginning of the year, while 500 applications have been examined.
He explained that the lack of registered roads had been one of the main reasons development could not proceed in many communities.
Urban land consolidation
According to the minister, where an existing rural road has not been officially registered, authorities can now proceed with its registration. For plots that have no road access at all, property owners can request the creation of a new road, which can then be designed and registered as a rural road.
The ministry is also moving ahead with a pilot urban land consolidation programme in 10 areas across Cyprus, funded by the European Union.
Under the scheme, large areas involving dozens of property owners are consolidated, a road network is created, and land shares are redistributed among the owners.
Ioannou described the mechanism as a practical tool that can help unlock isolated areas and encourage development.
Compulsory acquisition where needed
The minister said the previous system depended on obtaining the consent of all affected landowners, a process that often led to delays or made projects impossible to complete.
As a result, roads were frequently registered only in sections and could not function effectively.
Under the new framework, compulsory acquisition procedures will apply where the necessary consents cannot be secured, allowing entire road projects to proceed.
He added that compensation costs are reduced because valuations take into account the increase in property value generated by road access.
Communities have also been asked to prioritise projects and initially submit only their two or three most important rural road requests, based mainly on the number of plots that would benefit.
According to Ioannou, only 10 to 12 roads were registered annually under the old process, compared with 112 already registered under the new system.
New bill under consultation
The minister also referred to a new expropriation bill that is currently under public consultation.
The proposed legislation would change the way compensation is calculated, adjust interest payments and set limits on how long the state can maintain an expropriation.
Ioannou noted that some property owners have waited as long as 20 years for compensation due to disputes involving land valuations.
Once consultations are completed, the bill will be sent to the Law Office of the Republic before being submitted to parliament.
