€45 million to be spent greening seven government buildings

In a move aimed at fulfilling EU green obligations, the department of public works will upgrade seven government buildings at a total cost of €45 million by 2027, it announced on Tuesday.

The department has recently established a task force in collaboration with the department of electromechanical services, which is already working on the implementation of the project.

The seven government buildings that will undergo a renovation are the audit service office, with an estimated cost of €6.4 million; the finance ministry headquarters, at €15 million; the Supreme Court at €12 million; the Limassol district court at €5 million; the foreign affairs headquarters at €6 million; the Aradippou police station at €600,000; and the department of electromechanical services at €2 million.

An EU agreement stipulates that from 2028 new government buildings in member states will need to be zero-emission buildings, defined as an infrastructure with a very high energy performance and with the very low amount of energy still required fully covered by energy from renewable sources.

Only historical buildings, places of worship, and buildings used for defence purposes will be exempt from this rule.

Furthermore, member states have agreed to establish requirements ensuring that all new government buildings will need to be ready to utilise solar energy by 2030.

According to Communication and Works Minister Alexis Vafeades the task force will also cooperate with the energy ministry.

He added that, so far the list of public buildings that have undergone energy upgrades includes government offices in Paphos, completed in 2021 at a cost of €6.69 million, the E-procurement offices at a cost of €1.29 million and the Nicosia mechanical department headquarters for €7.4 million.