A €435,000 EU-funded project to widen the busy Agios Dometios crossing with a third lane has hit criticism before it even starts.
Tavern owner Stelios Athanasiou of “Odofragma” restaurant, located right beside the checkpoint, calls the plan “half-measure”.
Speaking to SigmaLive, he explained: “On the occupied side they’re building three lanes, but when you return to the free areas the lanes drop back to two. All that traffic will just squeeze into the same two again.”
He is willing to cede 14 feet of his property if authorities create a genuine third lane on the Republic side too – otherwise he fears the business will eventually close.
“Decisions are taken unilaterally. I’d rather lose a small piece than the whole place later,” he said.
EU/UNDP statement
The European Commission announced Thursday it is fully funding the works through UNDP’s Local Infrastructure Facility (LIF).
Two contracts worth ≈ €435,000 were signed for excavations, paving, electromechanical installations and landscaping inside the UN buffer zone.
Works start immediately and finish by end of January 2026. Disruptions will be kept to a minimum.
The Commission stresses Agios Dometios is one of the island’s busiest crossings with steadily rising traffic. The upgrade aims to cut waiting times, boost safety and strengthen people-to-people contact across the divide.
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