Cyprus has achieved solutions to reduce the impact of the implementation of the EU's targets for reducing pollutants in aviation, as stated by the Minister of Transport, Communications and Works, Yannis Karousos, during the presentation of his Ministry's budget to the Parliament's Finance Committee. Referring to the declaration of air connectivity by 2027 at EU level, he said that after a study and relevant proposals, Cyprus achieved solutions that were approved in recognition of the specificity of Cyprus and the island regions. Specifically, the difference in the price of conventional fuel and biofuel will be subsidized 100%, with the provision of free emission trading rights for airlines. There were also, as he said, some exceptions for the refueling of airlines for countries such as Cyprus and Malta, while there was a commitment by the European Commission to prepare a report on the impact of its pollutant policy on the connectivity of the islands in 2027. Mr. Karousos further mentioned that the liberalization of ground handling services at airports brought a benefit to the airlines due to the reduction of costs by 50%. He stressed the positive results of the implementation of the new incentive schemes amounting to €165 million for 2023-27 and said that the three plane companies that announced they would be based in Cyprus will bring an increase in seats. Due to these developments, he said, in Cyprus there was no increase in ticket prices as in other countries. The goal, he said, is to increase passenger traffic by 52% by 2027 from 9 million to 13.7 million in 2027. He noted that in terms of air routes there were 145 routes for 2022 plus seven announced a few days ago. He also talked about an increasing trend in cruises, which from 9,000 bookings in 2019 reached 188,000 in 2022, while for 2023 there are calls for 207 cruise ship arrivals compared to 106 in 2019. The Minister also referred to the development of the Larnaca port and marina, an investment of €1.2 billion and said that the benefits will reach €120 million. 600 berths and 4000 jobs will be created per year. Increased budget for 2023 The Minister mentioned that the budget for 2023 amounts to € 469.45 million including €35 million co-financed projects, while noting that there is an increasing trend in the Ministry's budget, which since 2015 reaches about 82%. "The Nicos Anastasiades government boasts that it is implementing the largest development policy that our country has ever had and that important and long-awaited projects and investments, which were announced by the President of the Republic and which were a requirement of local communities in all provinces for decades, are to be implemented," he said. It noted that the total number of development projects completed or under implementation and under tender is €1.78 billion. The project budget in the Recovery and Resilience Plan for 2022-26 is €143.8 million of which €89 million concerns the Ministry of Transport and €54.8 million other Ministries. He also mentioned that the implementation rate of development spending is expected to exceed 82% in 2022, which is one of the highest rates in recent years. Referring to the main projects under construction, he referred, among others, to the Astromeritis – Evrychou motorway, the City – Paphos motorway, the Nicosia Perimeter, the photo-tagging system, the Larnaka – Dhekelia and Deryneia Sotira roads. Among the main projects expected to be announced in 2023, the new migrant centre in Limnes, the buildings that will house the three Ministries of Interior, Energy and Transport, the state chemical laboratory, the new building of the Legal Service and the project to solve the subsidence in Pissouri and the second phase of the perimeter. He also said that the project for the new Cyprus Museum at a cost of €144 million was not enough. There will be an announcement before the end of the year, while the project for the Palaichori - Nicosia motorway will be signed at the end of January. In addition, the Resilience and Recovery Plan will implement intelligent transport systems, create infrastructure for recharging electric vehicles and regulate the relevant market with 10 double fast recharging points and 1000 recharging points by 2026. Sustainable mobility projects will also be carried out while electromobility is promoted in the public sector with the purchase of electric vehicles. New plans for subsidising and scrapping vehicles The Minister also announced a new subsidy scheme for the purchase of electric vehicles amounting to €30 million to be announced in the coming weeks and a plan for the withdrawal of polluting vehicles amounting to €15 million. He also said that for the new electromobility plan the procedure is changing and interested parties will have to attach a certificate from importers that they were informed about the prices, since in the previous plans they implemented only a percentage of 20-25%. The goal, as mentioned by the minister, is that by 2035 all new registrations will be electric vehicles. As far as public passenger transport is concerned, he referred to new contracts in all provinces, new buses, an increase in the frequency of services. He also said that the perimeter road is expected to contribute to the traffic problem with a 25% reduction in vehicles, flexible hours in the public sector that will be between 7-9 a.m., the expansion of the application of student transport by door-to-door buses, the new regional traffic control system and the introduction of intelligent transport systems. He also referred to a programme of €72 million for canopies at bus stops for which the offer is completed. He also said that in public transport there were 22 million movements in 2019 and are expected to exceed 24 million movements in 2022. The photo-labelling solution for accidents As far as road safety is concerned, he referred to measures such as the installation of photo-labelling systems in all cities, the road network scanning vehicle, the fix Cyprus application, the launch of a periodic inspection for mopeds and motorcycles and the promotion of various pending legislation in the Committee on Transport. He said that in Nicosia the photo-labelling system played its part in reducing violations and accidents and now the same results are expected for the other provinces. As for the mobile cameras, he said that the networks in which they will exist will be announced so that drivers can be aware and careful. | 
