Filenews 28 July 2024 - by Angelos Nicolaou
An open tender for the concession contract for the operation and management of the Troodos Observatory in the community of Agridia at an altitude of 1200 meters is in progress by the Treasury. Interested parties must submit their bids by 11/10/2024. The Troodos Observatory was implemented under the responsibility of the Limassol District Administration in the community of Agridia, with a total cost of construction and astronomical equipment of €1,770,000 and is located on land leased by the state to the Community Council of Agridia for 33 years (03/01/2013 until 02/01/2046).
The building includes a reception area, an office/conference room, spaces for two telescopes and a presentation area. Equipment has been installed, consisting of two main telescopes, a 20-inch astronomical telescope with a mechanically rotating vaulted roof and a solar telescope, for daytime use, with a specially designed, mechanically driven roof. The building also includes the Astro-Marina, a platform specially designed for the placement of personal mobile telescopes by amateur stargazers. Additional equipment could be installed in the presentation area to be used as a planetarium.
The objective of the concession agreement is the development, operation and management of the Troodos Observatory in order to meet the general objective of the GEOSTARS cross-border cooperation project, of which it is part. The aim of the project was to increase the number of visitors and consequently the economic development of the Troodos region, through the creation of a new form of alternative tourism.
In particular, the objectives of the Concession Agreement are for the Observatory to operate as:
● Pole of attraction for travellers and Astrotourism
● Stargazing tourist site
● Informative destination (e.g., in the Astropark standards), with unhindered access by the public and partially educational (for special type programs and for special interest groups)
● Space for research and academic activities.
The creation of the Troodos Observatory was part of the cross-border cooperation project GEOSTARS, which was funded by the European Program Interreg Greece-Cyprus 2014-20. The overall objective of the GEOSTARS project is to improve the number of visitors and consequently the economic development of the three recognized Geoparks of Crete and Cyprus. These areas were considered to be the most degraded and depopulated, while at the same time they have particular environmental and natural mountainous characteristics that provide them with common comparative advantages for tourism development. The specific objective of the project is to create a new form of alternative tourism that: (a) is an extension of the natural value of the sites, (b) exploits comparative advantages of climatic elements, and (c) is an extension of the scientific field of geology dealing with celestial natural bodies.
