Filenews 6 January 2026 - by Vassos Vassiliou
On a state plot opposite the former "Hilton" hotel in Nicosia, also known as the "fillet of Qatar", there is a thought to move the city bus station, which currently operates to the square of the Statue of Solomos in the city center.
According to information from "F", this solution is favoured by the mayor of Nicosia, Charalambos Prountzos, while in the past a relevant proposal had been submitted by a state Service. Of course, the rationale of the proposal that was submitted at the time was to operate the area as a transfer station, that is, to stop there for buses coming from other cities and from there for passengers to board small buses of the municipality and be transferred to the center of the capital. However, the issue was bogged down in the fact that at the time the company had expressed its disagreement, which managed urban transport on the grounds that it would lose customers. It is noted that all routes start from Solomos Square and cover all destinations.
As "F" is informed, the issue of the abolition of the station located in Omirou Square (as is the correct name of the square) had been raised in the municipal council, in the form of a thought, by the mayor of Nicosia, Mr. Charalambos Prountzos, but the issue has not yet been discussed in depth, which is expected to happen along the way.
Supportive of the mayor's thoughts is ETEK, which raised the issue relatively recently and on the occasion of organizing a "workshop", which concerned not only access to the capital but also the development of the historic center.
The president of ETEK, Konstantinos Konstantis, developing the positions of the Chamber, had initially indicated that the "opening" of Makarios Avenue to the car, as an isolated idea, does not qualify as a priority. Subsequently, Mr. Konstantis proposed the following targeted (as he described them) low-cost and high-benefit measures: More shading and greenery for a better microclimate, urban equipment, unification of timetables to create a cohesive experience, targeted parking subsidy for short visits, rearrangement of supra-local bus crossings, relocation of Omirou Square as a terminal, closure of all vehicles on the weekend, and planned cultural/business activities that increase flow and stay.
Of course, in case of promotion of ETEK's proposals, the Chamber will develop them with practical suggestions.
One of the questions that had been asked in the past is "how is it compatible, on the one hand, to implement policies to strengthen Public Transport in order to limit the private car, exhaust fumes and etc. from the city, and at the same time to "exile" buses". Some of the proponents of moving the bus terminal also base their position on the rationale that buses occupy a traffic lane (causing congestion), which could be used by private vehicles.
Organized shopkeepers are also reacting to the removal of the buses, believing that this will further affect their businesses, many of which are facing a problem of survival. However, the shopkeepers agree to the opening of Makarios Avenue for all vehicles, something with which state services disagree.
"Sinful" prehistory for the exploitation of the plot
It is recalled that in 2017, the then mayor of Agantzia had suggested that the "fillet of Qatar" be turned into a parking lot. Based on the proposal, due to its central location, the "fillet" could be used in multiple ways to serve the surrounding uses, both of the (then) Municipality of Nicosia and the (then) Municipality of Aglantzia, within the municipal boundaries of which it was located.
This plot has an area of 24,768 square meters and with the urban planning incentives that were in force at the time, the building factor could be 250%. About 55,000 sq.m. could be built on it.
It is recalled that in 2010, during the government of Demetris Christofias, a heated debate developed as to whether the plot would be granted to Qatar in order to develop it, with AKEL supporting the proposal and DISY opposing.
Due to the reactions caused and the claims of the main opposition (through its then representative Haris Georgiadis) that the plot was being sold off, the plans were shipwrecked. The government had argued that the ownership status of the plot would not change, but this did not change the data.
In July 2010, the Land Registry Department estimated the value of the parcel at €143 million, while Qatar (with its own appraisers) estimated that the value did not exceed €50 million.
Private appraisers carried out an on-site inspection on 10 September 2010 and assessed the access to the plot as excellent. As they had indicated, the boundaries of the plot are adjacent to three streets: Arch. Makariou III Avenue to a frontage of approx. 110 meters, Ethnikis Guardas Street to a frontage of approx. 230 meters and Kallipoleos Avenue to a frontage of approx. 115 meters. The southern boundary of the block is adjacent to the facilities of the Technical School of Nicosia. It is noted that one appraiser estimated the value of the property at €105 million while another at €155 million.
In the year 2018, an uproar broke out, when the Land Registry Department estimated the value of the plot at only €5 million. The issue was brought before the Parliament by MP Irini Charalambidou, who wondered, "how from 2012 to 2018 the value of the fillet decreased by about 26 times".
In the year 2020, the fillet began to be formed into a "temporary" parking lot, which serves the Immigration Department which had rented a building near the former "Hilton" hotel.
The then general director of the Ministry of the Interior, which manages the "fillet", had told "F", that the parking space (about 250 spaces) would be created in a small foramen of the plot and precisely because of the temporality, asphalt would not be placed but krasieria (split material with gravel that is usually placed as a road substrate).
There was a camp on the plot which was moved.
It remains to be seen the outcome of the proposal to transfer the bus station to the "fillet", opposite the former "Hilton" from the area today in the Statue of Solomos.
