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President: Government has supported the fishing sector

23/01/2023 07:56

The government with various policies and actions has supported with great sensitivity the fisheries sector and the prospects of blue growth, Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades has said laying the foundation stone for the works to upgrade the Liopetri fishing shelter.

The project will be completed in the coming November with a total cost of €11 million.

Anastasiades called on 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.”

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

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,” he said.

Moreover, Anastasiades said the connection with the highway, which is also under construction, will render the shelter accessible to tourists which stay at the nearby tourist resort of Ayia Napa and Paralimni and Protaras as well the wider region of Famagusta.

The citizens will soon have at their disposal an area which would constitute a reference point for sport and leisure with an upgraded road network, he said.

The President said that the outgoing government leaves to the next administration which will assume duties on March 1, following the February presidential elections, a legacy of over €54 million in the operational programme Sea, Fisheries and Aquaculture for 2021-2027 which are additional to the funds allocated in the annual budgets.