THEY ARE ASKING FOR A SHARE IN THE BENEFITS OF PAFOS AIRPORT - Filenews 12/8 by Dora Christodoulou
An issue that was raised during the pre-election period, before the recent parliamentary elections, both in Paphos and in Larnaca, are preparing to bring back local authorities of eastern Paphos.
This is the request for compensatory benefits from the effects, which, as they claim, have from the operation of Paphos International Airport.
The resumption of the issue is taking place in Paphos after the very rapid increase in the activity of the unit, due to the air base which, due to the regional conflicts, has become 24-hour operation, as they report, with the obvious nuisance caused day and night.
This issue will be raised by the competent authorities of the area before the now five representatives of the Paphos district in the House of Representatives, in order, as they emphasize, to make a coordinated and not fragmentary, as before, effort to take into account.
The issue began to enter the agenda of Paphos, after the relevant moves by local authorities of the Larnaca district adjacent to its airport, however it "rose" high on the local agenda after last year's record traffic of the airport and the parallel increase in activities at the air base that greatly increased the corresponding nuisance in a zone of kilometers around the unit.
At the same time, the start of the expansion works of the Paphos International Airport is seen by the local authorities, who are in the wider area, as indicative of the expected further consequences on the daily life and quality of life of their citizens.
The request for the provision of compensatory measures was put forward before the elections by the Municipal Council of Ierokipia unanimously and it was decided to seek cooperation and coordination with the Municipality of Larnaca and the Municipality of Dromolaxia - Meneou, which face the same problems, but it has not yet been promoted.
The operation of Paphos Airport offers significant economic benefits, but at the same time brings environmental, social and other impacts that affect the standard of living of the residents of the area, the authorities of eastern Paphos point out.
Some of them are environmental pollution, noise pollution, limiting development and business activity.
As a counterbalance to these effects, issues such as the imposition of a special fee per passenger, the financing of infrastructure projects, tree planting and green zones, the improvement of the road network for better access to the airport, the financing of social and cultural actions and various others have been put on the table, in order to finalize the framework of claims.
These compensatory measures will help balance the benefits and impacts of the airport's operation, ensuring the sustainable development of the area and the quality of life of residents, they argue.
