“The government will make every possible effort so that the improvement of the two airports finish the soonest possible”, Transport Minister, Haris Thrasou stated on Tuesday at the House Transport Committee session. According to Mr. Thrasou, the agreement with the strategic investor provides for the completion of the Larnaca Airport in 3 ½ years and the Paphos Airport in 2 ½ / 2 years. “We believe that the start of operations in the summer season would be an advantage”, he added.

The Minister also referred to the Cyprus shipping register, which is no longer in the black list and the problems that the ships under the Cypriot flag face. “The upgrading of the Cypriot fleet led to its downsizing, since many ships did not meet the required criteria. The other problem is Turkey’s denial to open its ports to the Cypriot fleet”, he said.

On the other hand, Chairman of the House Transport Committee, Zacharias Koulias said that the cooperation between the Committee and Mr. Thrasou will be perfect in order to deal with the challenges in the best possible way.