Paphos mayor Phedonas Phedonos on Tuesday said he wants to make his town a “regional university centre” in 2025.
Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency, he said he wants to increase the number of students studying in Paphos and operate a “regional innovation centre” and a “regional centre for special courses on innovation and entrepreneurship” in the town.
The planned bolstering of Paphos’ education sector comes at the end of a year in which the American University of Beirut opened a new campus in its town – a moment he had described at the time as “one of the most important projects” Paphos has undertaken in its history.
He added that the new campus will aid in the “transformation of Paphos into a regional centre of high prestige”.
“The town of Paphos today acquires one of the most important projects of its historical journey, which, without exaggeration, can be ranked among the 15 most important projects this town has undertaken in its 2,300 years of history,” he said.
“It will cause some of the best minds from neighbouring countries to come to our town and be educated, and I am sure that some will stay as permanent residents, adding value to our town.”
Later in the year, he also spent a night in a student dormitory which had been opened to house students at the Cyprus University of Technology’s (Tepak) Paphos campus. He said the night “went very smoothly”.
In addition to the matter of universities, he said he plans to open two new museums in the town, as well as a “historical documentation centre”.
The centre, he said, “will include a museum to highlight and promote the town’s history and the regeneration of squares and streets in the area extending from the old police station to the Armenian genocide memorial park”.
He said the project’s central idea is “the creation in the heart of Paphos’ historical centre of an enclave of culture and architectural heritage with high-quality infrastructure for pedestrians”.
Additionally, he said a new senior citizens’ centre will be opened in his town, costing a total of €15 million. He also said a tender would be held for the creation of a “centre which will deal with the issues of juvenile delinquency”.
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