Minister of Interior Constantinos Ioannou on Tuesday named the 20 apartment buildings which will be demolished as part of a scheme to upgrade refugee housing.
Ioannou said that the 20 buildings have been deemed structurally unsustainable and must be evacuated as soon as possible.
Speaking during a press conference on the “Ktizo” scheme, the Minister said that assessments have been completed for 43 out of a total of 358 apartment buildings created to house families displaced in the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus.
He noted that all 43Â are facing structural issues, and their repair is deemed unsustainable and economically unfeasible.
However, assessments showed that 20 out of the 43 apartment buildings pose an immediate danger and need to be evacuated promptly.
The 20 apartment buildings are located in the Municipality of Latsia, the Municipality of Strovolos, the Municipality of Aglantzia, the Community of Deftera, and the Municipality of Kato Polemidia.
According to the Minister of Interior, in the Municipality of Latsia, the apartment buildings that need to be evacuated immediately are located on 4 Machaira Street, 11 Odysseos Street, and 13 Dodekanisou Street in the Agios Eleftherios Settlement, as well as on 1 Tinos Street and 3 Tinos Street in the Apostolos Andreas Settlement.
In the Municipality of Strovolos, the evacuated apartment buildings are determined to be located at 2 Orestou Street, 4 Orestou Street, 14 Dodekanisou Street, 16 Dodekanisou Street, 18 Dodekanisou Street, 19 Epaminonda Street and 21 Epaminonda Street in the Strovolos III Settlement, as well as on 155 Kantaras Avenue and 163 Kantaras Avenue in the Kokkines Settlement.
Furthermore, in the Municipality of Aglantzia, the apartment buildings on 8 Voufavento Street and 6 Karpassias Square 6 in Platy Settlement are affected.
In the Community of Deftera, the affected apartment buildings are located on 49 Chrysospiliotissas Street and 50 Chrysospiliotissas Street in the Chrysospiliotissa Settlement, while in the Municipality of Kato Polemidia, the apartment buildings on number 4 and number 6 on the 95th Road in the Agios Spyridonas Settlement are affected.
As Ioannou explained, “a delegation from the Ministry of Interior will begin on-site visits to provide detailed information to the tenants, in collaboration with the local authorities, who have already been informed,” emphasising that the remaining 23 apartment buildings are also unsustainable, and therefore, the process of their evacuation will be initiated at a later stage.
Additionally, the Minister of Interior stated that the tenants in the 23 apartment buildings can remain in their apartments; however, he added that they are encouraged to express their interest in participating in the scheme within six months to receive a one-time allowance.
Moreover, he mentioned that if they wish, they can evacuate and hand over their apartments to the Department of Town Planning and Housing, to become eligible for the rent subsidy.
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