Filenews 23 December 2022
We are moving from the planning, from the preparation, to the implementation of the projects, said the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Kostas Kadis, visiting Akamas, to inspect the progress of the road network improvement works within the Akamas National Forest Park.
As part of his visit, Mr. Kadis monitored the demolition and removal of illegal premises, in the area of "Aspros Potamos", at the southern entrance of the National Forest Park.
He pointed out that the improvement of the road network is done in an environmentally friendly way, asphalt will not be used and in addition to the fact that vehicles will move on specific routes, illegal roads on these routes will be cut off.
At the same time, with great satisfaction, he said, "we see that with the cooperation of the Municipality of Peyia, illegal premises located at the entrance of the National Forest Park are demolished and illegal buildings are removed", adding that "this is very important, since these infrastructures created a very unsightly image at the entrance of the park".
He also pointed out that the message is given that they do not tolerate illegality and that the Park will operate with very high standards on the basis of regulations, on the basis of legality and will improve the experience of visitors, will protect the natural environment and will bring benefit to the communities of the area since inside the park visitors will not have the opportunity to eat or stay overnight. These, he noted, will have them in the surrounding communities, which will benefit and in this way the course they have had in recent years, of degradation of communities, will be reversed.
Mr. Kadis said that the Ministry of Agriculture is constantly monitoring the situation, adding that it is one of the projects that is of high priority for the government.
Asked about this, he replied that the improvement works will be completed in specific phases. Indicatively, he noted that the first phase, which includes the road that reaches Lara, will be ready before the summer, emphasizing that visitors will already have the opportunity from this season to experience a more improved experience and then other phases will follow, he added. The works, he continued, will be completed gradually, saying the total cost of the project together with the nodes amounts to around €44 million. The project will take some time, Mr. Kadis said.
Local Plan
Before the end of the current government's term, the Local Plan is expected to be announced, the Minister of Agriculture said, adding that this will also depend on how quickly the Town Planning Council moves.
As he mentioned, it is currently being worked on by the Town Planning Council, which has received the comments from the Department of Environment. He also said that on the basis of the observations, the Local Plan should be adapted and announced along with some compensatory measures that have been given by the Ministry of Interior. "I hope that there will be announcements on this issue as well to complete the resolution of the Akamas issue and it concerns the whole of Cyprus," he concluded.
