THE LONG-AWAITED Limnitis-Pyrgos crossing in the north west of the island will open at 10am today after 46 years of separation.
A ceremony is scheduled for 10am on the new 6km-long road, which crosses the buffer zone to link the two communities, thereby halving the travelling time between Limnitis and Nicosia.
It is the seventh crossing on the island, and has been a priority in discussions since March 21, 2008 when it was first proposed by leaders President Demetris Christofias and Mehmet Ali Talat.
In a joint statement issued on that date, the two then leaders also agreed to open the Ledra Street crossing, which was inaugurated some weeks later on April 3, 2008.
Construction on Limnitis began on March 29 this year after the UN Development Programme signed a contract with a joint venture comprised of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot companies.
This bi-communal project (FAP-Tarmac Joint Venture) has been working ever since to improve the condition of the road between the two towns, which will allow civilian traffic to flow through the buffer zone running across the area.
In 2009, the two leaders delivered three joint statements – on March, 21, 23 May and July 25 – instructing their representatives to take up the opening of the crossing and other crossing points.
Through a signed agreement on 26 June 2009, the two leaders formally agreed to proceed with the work and decided that the crossing point would operate under the rules governing other crossings and underscored the role that UNFICYP would play.
On August 7, 2010 an ambulance made the first journey from Pyrgos medical centre in the Paphos district to Nicosia General Hospital via the buffer zone along the Limnitis road since 1964. Following this first trial runs, UNFICYP upgraded the patrol track to facilitate emergency travel for civilian use pending completion of the new road.
For the past 46 years, Greek Cypriot residents in Kato Pyrgos have had to travel to Paphos, on the western coast, and Limassol, on the south, in order to reach Nicosia. The new route will halve the travel time from three to 1.5 hours.
