More roadworks planned for Paphos

BUSINESS owners in Paphos are concerned that a new road widening project due to take place this year will adversely affect trade.

The Paphos municipality is holding a meeting tomorrow to discuss plans to widen the busy Tomb of the Kings road into a dual carriageway which will be part of the circular ring road around Paphos.

Owners of the many shops, restaurants and bars which line the busiest road in Paphos fear they will lose a huge chunk of their frontage, due to the widening of the road.

Ben Hinton, owner of ‘Ben’s bar’ on the road, said he hoped tomorrow’s meeting would clarify shop owners’ concerns.

“From what I can see, my business won’t be too badly affected as I am close to the start of the Tomb of the Kings road, but I am concerned for everyone else,” he said.

“People have many concerns, and as this is a road widening project it will clearly take a substantial amount of time to complete and will disturb and disrupt the area.”

Business owners also want to know if they will be offered any form of compensation.

Although Hinton has reservations about the project he admitted that the road needed tidying up, but he said that he didn’t believe that the upgraded road should be a dual carriageway.

“We already have enough to contend with as there are a number of all-inclusive hotels in the area, which take away trade,” he said. “Building a dual carriageway will mean that there will be nowhere for traffic to stop.”

The Tomb of the Kings road is a main tourist hub of the town and houses many popular hotels and holiday apartments, as well as the much visited archaeological site of the Tomb of the Kings. It is also the main artery connecting Paphos with Peyia, Coral Bay and St. Georges.

It is not yet clear when the road widening project is due to start.

A spokesperson from SAPPA, the Paphos sewerage board, said that when the road widening project begins, new waste pipes will also be laid as part of the overall upgrade of Paphos’ sewerage system.

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