CYPRUS: Construction of EUR 350m Nicosia Orbital Motorway to begin in 2020

Cyprus Ministry of Transport has issued a call for tenders for construction of the €350 mln Nicosia Orbital Motorway to be built in five phases starting in mid-2020.

The long-awaited project is considered to be of high importance as it is part of the Ministry's strategic plan for the decongestion of traffic in the gridlocked capital, especially for vehicles entering Nicosia.

Phase A1 of the project, includes a 7.5 km-long motorway which will link the existing A1 motorway (Limassol – Nicosia) with the Industrial Area of Dali and Tseriou Avenue via the Lakatamia industrial area. It also includes 10 km of connecting roads and 3 elevated intersections to facilitate connections to the existing road network.

Phase A1 is to set to begin in H1 2020, with works scheduled to be completed by 2023.

The cost for Phase A1 is estimated at €62 mln plus VAT.

The Department of Public Works has secured the inclusion of the Orbital Motorway in the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) as part of the Central Network of Cyprus and Orient – East-Med Corridor.

Cyprus has secured co-financing of €43.8 mln through the Facility " Connecting Europe -Connecting Europe Facility "of the European Union.

The Orient/East-Med Corridor connects large parts of Central Europe with ports of the North, Baltic, Black and Mediterranean Seas.

It focuses upon fostering the development of these ports as major multimodal logistics platforms and providing economic centres in central Europe with modernised, multimodal connections to Motorways of the Sea.

The corridor incorporates the Elbe River as a key inland waterway and will improve multimodal connections between Northern Germany, the Czech Republic; the Pannonian region and Southeastern Europe. The corridor will also provide an improved link to Cyprus.

Upon completion, the motorway will connect the main highways of Nicosia – Limassol (A1), Nicosia – Kokkinotrimithia (A9) and the proposed Nicosia – Palaichori motorway. It will act as a ring road, contributing to the substantial decongestion of the capital main roads.