Filenews 27 January 2023
Work is progressing on the Western Coastal Pedestrian Walkway in Paphos, which extends from Paphos Harbour to the Paphos – Chlorakas boundaries, according to the project's architect, Paphos Municipality Technical Services Officer Christos Konstantinidis.
Mr. Konstantinidis said that the budget of which is in the order of €7,400,000 and referring to the technical characteristics of the project, he noted that in his opinion what gives the project special importance is its relationship and synergy with other projects of the Municipality in the wider neighbouring area.
This is an ongoing project that includes three subprojects, he said, such as the redevelopment of the land area of the port basin, the construction of new shades in Limanaki and the renovation-improvement of the Municipal Bathrooms. The main objectives are to give space to pedestrians and to highlight buildings linked to the history of Pafos, he added.
Mr. Konstantinidis, referring to the identity of the project, explained the significant impact it is expected to have on the upgrading and enrichment of the city's public space. The project covers a total area of approximately 47,000 square metres. As he mentioned, the main compositional elements of the configuration are a central pedestrian street of minimum width 4 m. with continuous sea views, on which a network of points of interest (squares, seating areas, viewing points, etc.) develops. The project passes through particularly sensitive areas, both from an environmental point of view, since a large part of the area is, as he said, a protected landscape included in the Natura 2000 Network, and from a historical one, since having as a starting point the traditional port of Kato Pafos and the Medieval Castle, it crosses the archaeological site of Kato Pafos and the archaeological site of the Tombs of the Kings, sites of unique historical and archaeological value not only for Paphos but also for the country.
Moreover, the Mayor of Paphos, Phedonas Phedonos, specifying the importance of the project, explained its relationship and synergy with three projects under execution or in the process of execution in the tourist area (remodelling-upgrading of the land area of the port basin from the Limanaki to the Municipal Baths, redevelopment of Theoskepastis Square and surrounding roads and part of the public transport and public hygiene infrastructure network) and with three others completed in the same wider area. (regeneration of the fishing village/core of Kato Pafos, Unification of the Archaeological Sites of Kato Pafos, improvement of the Eastern Pavement – construction of a municipal café-restaurant on Vrysoudia beach).
The seven ongoing and completed projects in the tourist area, he pointed out, intertwine a web of regeneration, revitalization and renewal in one of the most visited and popular in terms of tourist destination areas of the Eastern Mediterranean.
Finally, the Mayor of Paphos said that this pedestrian street will be the thread that will connect the glorious and illustrious in antiquity Nea Paphos, the capital of Cyprus for 600 years, with the city of today that has changed and is changing without giving up its history and identity. Finally, he expressed his gratitude to the European Union for the co-financing of the project for the most part and to the State Services that contributed to the maturity of the project.
