NEWS UPDATE: Paphos gets new airport

President Demetris Christofias inaugurated the new Paphos Airport on Saturday and said that Cyprus should attract tourists from Russia, Ukraine and other countries in order to avert or minimise the consequences of the international crisis on the tourist industry.
Christofias said that after serving the Paphos market for 25 years, the modernisation of the airport was imperative. “In parallel with the construction of the new terminal, there will be a quantitative and qualitative improvement of services provided to passengers,” he said.
It cost EUR 110 mln to build and took 30 months to complete.
“We have to be alert in order to make sure that our airports are in a position to compete with the airports of other tourist destinations,” Christofias said, which is why the construction of the two terminals in Paphos and Larnaca were awarded to Hermes Airports Ltd. in a build-operate-transfer contracts for a period of 25 years, he explained.
“Our strategic goal is to turn our island into an important passenger and cargo hub in the region,” he said.
Transport Minister Nicos Nicolaides said that in the light of the global financial crisis, the island's two airports could be of substantial support to the economy and the efforts to create new jobs, as well as new financial activities which will attract new investments.
“In order 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 added.
In his address, Vice President of the European Commission and Transport Commissioner 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.
He said 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.
Tajani added that the EU had an ambitious agenda on air transport, which included the Single European Sky initiative 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.
President Christofias and Tajani also discussed the issue of shipping, with the Greek Cypriot saying that he would do his utmost to reunify the island and the air space. He also noted that he would do his utmost so that shipping could be jointly managed with the Turkish Cypriots, in the framework of a federation.
The new Paphos terminal building covers an area of 18,000 sq.m. and a capacity for 2.7 mln passengers per year. It will open to the public on November 17.