The European Commission has announced it will be co-financing a total of 107 infrastructure projects with a total of 6.2 billion euros in grants targeted to supporting sustainable, safe and efficient transport. The projects include major cross-border rail connections and the development of maritime ports. In Cyprus, the funds will go towards the construction of the Nicosia South Orbital Motorway (pound 32.9 million), as well as towards a Eurocontrol project in which Cyprus participates. According to a statement, the grants come from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) and over 80% of the funding will support projects that deliver a more efficient, greener, and smarter network of railways, inland waterways and maritime routes along the trans-European transport (TEN-T) network. The projects are also targeted to bolster the EU-Ukraine Solidarity Lanes, set up to facilitate Ukraine’s exports and imports. The 107 projects have been selected from a total of 353 submitted in response to the call for proposals, published in 2022. EU funding will take the form of grants, which will be used to co-finance total project costs. The next CEF Transport calls for proposals will be launched towards the end of September 2023. Out of the total funds announced, 32.9 million euros will be used to co-finance the construction of Phase C, section 1 of the Nicosia South Orbital Motorway, which will connect it with the motorway towards Limassol. The main benefits of the project include reduced travel time in the greater area of Nicosia, reduction of congestion and decreasing its environment impacts, according to the project summary published by the Commission. Cyprus, along with another 22 member states, is also participating in a project overseen by Eurocontrol which aims to improve interoperability and efficiency of air traffic management. The project will be granted 71.3 million euros. The project includes a rolling plan that allows the major European hubs to reduce congestion, delays and unnecessary carbon and noise emissions; an operational concept that allows aircraft to fly more direct routes when crossing the European skies, allowing a reduction of flight times and significant savings of CO2 emissions; and a set of common standards, protocols and digital services that allow Aviation stakeholders to exchange aeronautical and flight information seamlessly. The package prioritises major cross-border rail connections along the TEN-T core network, including the Brenner Base tunnel (linking Italy and Austria), Rail Baltica (connecting the three Baltic States and Poland with the rest of Europe), as well as the cross-border section between Germany and the Netherlands (Emmerich-Oberhausen). Maritime ports in Ireland, Greece, Spain, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Poland will also receive funding for developing on-shore power supply to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from moored vessels. To help make inland waterway transport future-proof, infrastructure along the Seine-Scheldt cross-border waterways between France and Belgium will be modernised. Inland ports on the Danube and the Rhine basins, such as Vienna and Andernach, will also receive an upgrade. To further increase the safety and interoperability of EU rail transport, the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) will be installed on trains and railway lines in Czechia, Denmark, Germany, France, Austria and Slovakia. On roads, several EU Member States will deploy Intelligent Transport Systems and Services (ITS), in particular cooperative ITS (C-ITS) for safer and more efficient transport. Several Member States will get support to European air traffic management projects, with a view to increasing efficiency in air transport and creating a Single European Sky.

Source: Cyprus News Agency