Service stations could appear on highway

THE GOVERNMENT is looking into the prospect of creating service stations along the length of the main highway, the Communications Ministry has said.

In a letter of response to Environmental Commissioner Charalambos Theopemptou, the ministry said it was examining the possibility of building stations with toilets, resting areas, restaurants and petrol stations.

As a preliminary measure, the aim is to create toilets in current weighing stations until tender procedures can be launched for private developers to build proper service stations, like those in the rest of Europe.

Earlier this month, Theopemptou sent a letter to the ministry saying there had been complaints by tourists, who rent cars and are shocked to find there are no resting areas to use the toilet or fill up on petrol.

In some cases, signs on the highway indicating service stations actually lead to private restaurants or cafeterias.

The lack of proper resting areas is also a problem for professional drivers, who are often on the roads for hours on end, without the ability to stop off for a rest or use the toilet.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.