Government supporting blue growth

With policies and actions, the government is supporting the fisheries sector and the prospects of blue growth, such as the €11 mln Liopetri fishing shelter upgrade, said President Nicos Anastasiades.

He laid the foundation stone for the project to be completed in November.

Anastasiades urged the construction company to finish the project within the envisaged timeframe implementing “what has been a vision and a standing request by the region’s fishermen for decades.”

He noted that fishing may have a small contribution to the island’s GDP but contributes decisively to the coastal regions’ social and economic growth, offering consumers healthy and safe products.

The project features a new 112-birth harbour with upgraded surrounding areas, boasting pedestrian and cycle lanes.

“The project is expected to have direct social and economic benefit both to the fishermen themselves as well as the community of Liopetri and the inhabitants of the wider region.”

Moreover, Anastasiades said the connection with the highway, which is also under construction, will make the shelter accessible to tourists at the nearby resorts of Ayia Napa, Paralimni, and Protaras.

“The citizens will soon have at their disposal an area which constitutes a reference point for sport and leisure with an upgraded road network.”

The President said his outgoing government leaves to the next administration, which assumes power on March 1, following the February presidential elections, a legacy of over €54 mln in the programme Sea, Fisheries and Aquaculture 2021-2027, which is additional to the funds allocated in the annual budgets.