Filenews 13 June 2023
The time is approaching for the award of the tender that will lead Cyprus from the 20th to the 21st century in terms of bus stops and waiting infrastructure in general, but also in terms of respect for the citizen, who will no longer wait in the rain and sun for public transport.
The scope of the whole project is also evident from the project's budget of €60 million. including maintenance and possible expansion, where necessary.
More specifically, the €60 million will be allocated as follows:
-The €35 million. relate to the implementation of the core project.
-Another €5 million They are intended for the ten-year maintenance of stops/shelters, etc.
-For additional orders from the Ministry of Transport, provision was made for an additional €10 million.
-An allocation of another €10 million was also calculated. for orders from other institutions, communities, and so on.
VAT should be added to the above amounts, which increases the cost by a few million.
As Aristotelis Savva, executive engineer at the Department of Public Works, told "F", for each point (out of about 1,000 that will be built) infrastructure of about five meters will be created, so the total length of the buildings will reach five kilometres. And, of course, the foundations on which the shelters will be built will also have a total length of five kilometres.
It is also worth noting that each point will be able to operate autonomously, so there is no need to install all the stops in order for the project to work.
It is noted that the project is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund SEA by 65% and by national resources by 35%.
The Minister of Transport, Mr. Alexis Vafeadis, told "F" that users of public transport are entitled to service under decent conditions and not to waiting conditions that for many years referred to third world situations. We want the citizens to see the buses in a more positive light and the modernization of the whole system, including its service, is a practical step, which will be followed by others, Vafeadis said. In general, the Minister considers that the infrastructure of stops and shelters is a crucial part of the service offered to the citizen and plays an important role in his decision to use public transport as a means of transportation.
Initially, 11 economic operators were interested in the project, eight of which were shortlisted to participate in the next round. Of the eight economic operators, four submitted a tender and one of them will be awarded the project. Three Cypriot companies/groups and one Greek one remain in the bidding game.
Hopefully, the bids will be awarded by the end of the month, when the preparatory work will begin and work will begin in 2024. This, of course, is the "desirable" scenario since usually, especially in large projects, appeals are registered before the Reviewing Authority, which brakes the award of tenders for 4-5 months, until the views of those involved are heard and the decision is issued.
What does the project involve?
Along with the installation works of the new bus stops, existing ones will be maintained, which will be used on secondary roads where bus crossings are not so dense. Any stops that are in poor condition will be forwarded for recycling. EAC will also play a role in the implementation of the project with the electrification of the points. Mr. Aristotelis Savva said that although the implementation of the main project will begin next year, preliminary works will begin the day after the award of the tender.
The project, which will take five years, covers urban areas and communities, including the Troodos communities. The five years will be followed by a ten-year maintenance period.
The contractor who will undertake the project will create 1,000 shelters (of various types) per year and by the end of the five years approximately 5,100 points will have been constructed.
The installation of the new bus stops/shelters will start, as a matter of priority, from the axes that present high service by public passenger transport and the type of bus stop/shelter to be installed will take into account:
- Passenger traffic, based on sales through the Telematics System "MOTION".
- The physical condition of the infrastructure at the site, based on an evaluation made during the recording of stops all over Cyprus.
- The commerciality of areas and local priorities.
The project will include the establishment of installation of the following services:
- 350 smart stops (pillar).
- 1,350 new small shelters.
- 650 new large canopies.
- 100 new large canopies suitable for mountainous areas.
- Repair of 600 large existing shelters.
- 2,000 simplified stops.
- Photovoltaic systems.
- 500 electronic signs.
- 450 kalatas.
- 200 bike stands and 20 bike stations.
- Foundation construction works and pavement repair around the stops.
