New parliament to be located at Pasydy hill says ministry

The new parliament building will be sited at Pasydy hill in the centre of Nicosia, the ministry of transport said on Tuesday.

The ministry appeared to be putting its foot down and ending a debate on where parliament should be relocated to after various alternative sites were proposed.

“The new parliament building will be built at Pasydy hill as, following intensive discussions among the competent agencies and services, the best possible siting has been found for the building,” a ministry statement read.

According to the statement, the solution arrived at ensures the protection of, as well as access to, the antiquities discovered at the site, without impacting their aesthetics.

“With this solution, not only is the parliament building kept in the centre of the capital, it will also set an example for marrying ancient civilization with modern architecture.”

The current parliament building is old and MPs and staff have been complaining of the lack of space.

After the discovery of antiquities at Pasydy hill, the site originally earmarked for the new parliament building, the Antiquities Department stepped in and blocked the project.

That set off a discussion on other locations, bringing parliament’s administration at loggerheads with the mayor of Nicosia, who insisted the parliament building should remain within the Nicosia city centre.

Recently House president Demetris Syllouris proposed relocating parliament to the outskirts of Nicosia, but the idea was opposed by Nicosia mayor Constantinos Yiorkadjis.

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