€16.7m road network in Vasilikos energy and industrial area inaugurated

Transport and Energy Ministers Alexis Vafeades and George Papanastasiou on Friday inaugurated the road network of the Vasilikos energy and industrial area, built at a cost of €16.7 million.

Vafeades hailed the development as “crucial, not only for the transportation sector but also for our country’s energy and commercial growth.”

He said that the project started in January 2020 and was completed last October this year by Iacovou Construction Ltd, under the supervision of the public works department. The funding for the project was allocated by the energy ministry.

The initiative involved the upgrade of existing axes, the development of new ones spanning a total length of 9.3 kilometres, the construction of six roundabouts and a bridge, the installation of pedestrian sidewalks with service infrastructures and the implementation of road lighting along the entire stretch.

Vafeades added that “the construction of this project serves one of the most critical industrial areas, with thousands of heavy vehicles commuting daily to and from oil and gas storage terminals, the Vasilikos asphalt plant and the Vasilikos port.”

“Relocating all oil and gas storage terminal facilities from Larnaca’s coastal front to the Vasilikos area had been a demand of the affected municipalities’ residents for decades. Finally, today, it becomes a reality with the completion of the road network,” the transport minister said.

Echoing Vafeades, Papanastasiou added that the area covers an expanse of approximately 1228 acres.

“Its primary aim was to accommodate oil and gas companies that had to be relocated from Larnaca’s coastal front,” he said, adding that the area incorporates 22 industrial plots.

Papanastasiou further elaborated that “the detailed design of the road network was meticulously crafted by the public works department, and the total project cost was covered by the ministry’s budgets from 2020 to 2023.”

He highlighted that within the Vasilikos energy and industrial Area, EKO Logistics Ltd, with its liquid fuel storage terminal, and the VLPG Plant Ltd, with its liquefied petroleum gas storage terminal, have already been established.

“By early 2024, the construction of the perimeter fence of the energy centre will begin, and within the first quarter of the new year, the construction of the independent fire suppression system will start.

“Additionally, the Special security centre of the police will be erected within the fenced area, and the responsible ministerial committee for the smooth and secure operation of the whole Vasilikos area is deciding and implementing measures for the transitional stage until the physical security measures are realised.”