Filenews 9 February 2026 - by Dora Christodoulou
The huge increase in the volume of commercial developments and activities in the Paphos Northern Bypass, in the last year, brings, in addition to the expected traffic problems, conflicts between agencies and professionals in the area for the management of the problem.
Revealing information from "F" states that at the center of the intense disagreements and behind-the-scenes actions is the junction by the new mall that operated in the area. The regulations on traffic lights that have been implemented are estimated by a portion of professionals to not only not favour traffic flow and decongestion during peak hours, but on the contrary magnified the problem, resulting in traffic jams on a highway axis.
Businessmen attribute pressure from the local authority to take the measure that caused an impediment to traffic, due to disputes that existed with them for various compensatory projects during the development of their businesses. Reacting to the problems recorded, these businessmen are pushing for the side of the state departments and the Parliament to take corrective measures. In this context, on-site observations and data recordings have already been carried out by the Traffic Police, the Traffic Studies Agency, the Municipality of Paphos, as well as a visit by the Parliamentary Committee on Transport.
The same information tells us that there are different assessments of stakeholders as to the measures to be taken, since the initial intentions of state departments do not seem to coincide with the aspirations of the Municipality, nor with the wishes of businessmen to facilitate movement to and from businesses.
However, the authorities say that the current traffic regime in the Northern Bypass, a key road axis leading to the Paphos-Limassol highway, but also to the tourist area of Kato Paphos, is no longer supported and new traffic arrangements are urgent.
The movement of vehicles at the northern end of the axis, i.e. in the area of the terminal traffic junction of the Limassol-Paphos motorway, but also at the traffic lights in the middle of the avenue leading to the Paphos-Geroskipou Industrial Area, is now particularly burdened on a daily basis. At that point, the largest commercial development of recent months is recorded, with the result that the initial interventions that are being studied focus on the traffic arrangements of the turn to the Industrial Area.
This busy road artery has changed its image and operation in the last year, as large-scale commercial developments that remained unfinished due to the economic crisis and the pandemic, have recently begun to restart for good, while new large-scale developments are in the works.
