The Limassol Chamber of Commerce and Industry is pleased to announce the approval of the European Union (EU) for the funding of MARITEC-X project (Marine and Maritime Research, Innovation, Technology Centre of Excellence), which makes part the top financial tools of the European Union, the widely known HORIZON 2020 - Teaming for Excellence. The project secured the green light in the wake of an intense and highly competitive process lasting about two years from the initial submission of the proposal, as well as two different evaluation phases, taking first place among the Cypriot entries and 3rd place at Pan-European level, from a total of 208 submitted proposals.
Our Chamber is a partner in the consortium running the project, which aims at the establishment of a Center for Excellence based in Cyprus, which will operate on the basis of the promotion of scientific and business innovation in maritime and marine life in the broader eastern Mediterranean. The Center for Excellence provides for alignment with the overall Smart Specialization Strategy for Cyprus, with emphasis on priority areas such as energy, transport, ICT, the environment and social challenges. We underline that this is the first substantial initiative is support of Blue Growth and strengthening the ecosystem of the sector in our country, and will contribute to upgrading the services offered in the broader area of Blue Economy.
In the wake of this development, MARITEC-X will now be renamed to Cyprus Marine and Maritime Institute project (CMMI). The total financing of the project amounts to €30 million, where € 15 million will come from the EU and the remaining €15 million from the Cyprus government. Resulting from the MARITEC implementation, the next 2-3 years will witness the emergence of value added projects in Larnaca and Limassol, such as modern and innovative laboratories and infrastructure to support research and development of advanced technologies in land and sea, which will open up a significant number of quality jobs, especially for scientific personnel.
The projects consortium brings together the following organizations from Cyprus and aborad:
1. Larnaca Municipality (project coordinator)
2. Limassol Chambr of Commerce & Industry
3. Marine Institute of Ireland
4. SmartBay Ireland
5. University of Southampton
6. Maritime Institute of Eastern Mediterranean
7. Geolmaging Ltd
8. Signalgenerix Ltd
Last but not least, the Limassol Chamber expresses its gratitude to the project partners for their excellent and productive cooperation, as well as to all those whose support has contributed to this great success.
