President Christofias inaugurates new Paphos Airport Cyprus

President of the Republic Demetris Christofias inaugurated the new Paphos Airport, assuring that ''the Cyprus Government is vigilant and is taking all necessary measures in order to avert or minimise the consequences of this international crisis on our country,'' noting that ''our effort is to define and implement short-term and medium-term measures in order to avoid problems.''
''Particular emphasis is given on supporting the tourist industry and maintaining the tourist traffic to Cyprus at least at the level of previous years. This target can only be achieved through attracting tourists from new markets like Russia, Ukraine and others,'' he said.
Inaugurating the new Paphos Airport, President Christofias said he was ''confident that the cooperation and dialogue already initiated between the Government and interested private institutions will help to a great extent in correctly dealing with the situation.''
Referring to the Paphos Airport, he said the continuous and rapid increase of passenger traffic through the airport in the 25 years since it first opened ''prompted the Government to make continuous investments in development works and improvements in the airport so as to meet continuously growing demands.''
''With the passage of time, it became evident that the modernisation of the airport was an imperative need. In parallel with the construction of the new terminal, there will be a quantitative and qualitative improvement of services provided to passengers,'' he said.
President Christofias pointed out that ''the tourist industry plays a significant role in the economy of our island and therefore it is self-evident that there is a need for the continuous upgrading of our airport services.''
''We have to be constantly and collectively on the alert in order to make sure that our airports are in a position to compete with the airports of other tourist destinations. This way of thinking has influenced our decision to build new modern passenger terminals both at the Larnaca and at the Paphos Airport. Following international tenders, the construction of these ambitious projects was awarded to Hermes Airports Ltd, which was also entrusted with the running of the airports for a period of 25 years,'' he added.
Furthermore, he said that ''Cyprus, as the furthermost outpost of the EU in the Southeastern Mediterranean, in combination with its geographical position at the crossroads of three continents, and with two modern airports will now have all the prerequisites and possibilities to develop further its air-transport.''
''Our strategic goal cannot be anything else but to turn our island into an important passenger and cargo hub in the region. To achieve this goal, the Government will assist in any way possible efforts made in this direction and it will support any other effort that will give a new impetus and a new boost to the island’s economy,'' he assured.
Concluding his speech, President Christofias said Cyprus' economic indicators as well as all objective indications on the Cypriot economy ''register an undeniable fact, that the level of the real economy in Cyprus, which is not associated with toxic products, remains strong and stable,'' noting that ''this situation, however, does not allow us to be complacent, on the contrary we must all work collectively, with prudence, calm and good planning, to avert any negative consequences on our economy.''
Minister of Communications and Works Nicos Nicolaides said that ''to our great satisfaction, we can say that today a decisive step is being made towards our strategic goal to render Cyprus an important hub of transport in the Eastern Mediterranean region.''
''For an island, like Cyprus, airports are particularly important works of infrastructure and play an important role in the Government’s effort to upgrade Cyprus into a regional service centre,'' he said, adding that, in the light of the global financial crisis, the island's two airports could be of substantial support to the economy of Cyprus and the efforts to create new jobs, as well as new financial activities which will attract new investments.
''In this framework, and in order to enhance our country’s effort to remain a competitive tourist destination, the decision was taken to suspend the imposition of additional taxation on passengers, as provided in the Agreement,'' he said.
Referring to the new passenger building, Nicolaides said it has a modern design and is a construction of high standards. The building’s total area is 18,000 sqm and its capacity is that of 2.7 million passengers per year. The levels of service are expected to be impeccable, with a constant flow of passengers, reasonable delays and comfortable spaces. ''We note with satisfaction the fact that this project has been completed after 30 months’ work, according to planning and without any delay,'' he added.
In his address, Vice President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Transport Antonio Tajani said the new facilities of the Paphos Airport indicate the will and dynamism of the people of Cyprus for development, noting that such projects contribute to the development of the region.
Referring to the global financial crisis, Tajani said the first symptoms are appearing on air transport, adding that the coming months will be difficult and the industry should adapt in order to pull through.
Tajani assured that Cyprus could count on him to continue doing everything possible to promote competitive, quality, safe and continuous air transport, adding that his efforts would focus on removing all obstacles regarding the functioning of the internal market, unblocking the possibilities on the ground and in the air, and developing safety and environmental compatibility levels.
He noted that the EU had an ambitious agenda on air transport, which included the initiative ''Single European Sky'' for the uniform management of air transport, the SESAR programme which is the technological aspect of the ''Single European Sky'', the competitiveness of the sector, the external dimension, the action plan for increasing airport capacity, and the strengthening of air safety.