The Limassol Municipality is currently in the process of exchanging views with the competent bodies of the European Commission and, at the same time, completing the proposals it submitted, to achieve climate neutrality by 2030, Mayor Nicos Nicolaides told "Entrepreneurial Limassol". The Mayor has repeatedly stressed that the inclusion of Limassol in the "Mission Cities" program is both the most important achievement, and the biggest challenge of recent years, since Limassol aspires to become a climate-neutral and digital city by 2030, through the implementation of 300 projects with a total cost of one billion euro.
According to Nicos Nicolaides, comments from the European Commission are encouraging, since Limassol is one of the cities that submitted its proposals and remarkable work has been done. He added, however, that because the privilege that will be given to the city is very important, the proposals must be thoroughly screened, since they concern 300 projects and it must be established that all parameters have been taken into account, for each one of them.
In the meantime, the Municipality and its project partners are working feverishly. As Nicos Nicolaides told us, an announcement has been issued for the recruitment of fixed-term officers to help set up the team for "Mission Cities". He explained that an Organization will be set up (whose articles of association and composition are being finalized these days) and the relevant documents have been submitted to the Registrar of Companies, so that "Mission Cities" can have flexibility in its operations.
The Organization for the "Mission Cities" differs from the one for European Capital of Culture, because, as the Mayor explained, in this case the Municipality is deeply involved on a daily basis with officers and officials, but when it comes to procedures where the Municipality is hindered by bureaucracy, the Organization will instead take care of promoting those. The Mission Cities Organization will have a Board of Directors in which all the main participants in the effort will be represented.
Mayor Nicolaides expressed hope that by March Limassol will receive the so-called "label" from the EU, which will give it precedence in the programs that will be announced. As he explained, a city that is in "Mission Cities" and has a climate contract will receive a higher score in its assessment. The next milestone after March, according to the Mayor, is to start implementing the projects, which must proceed immediately since they must be completed by 2030.
Nicos Nicolaides said he was very proud of the way the Municipality responded to a challenge that initially seemed "unreal", stressing that the key to success is on the one hand the involvement of Municipality officials with an appetite to work and vision, and on the other hand the involvement of the major research centers and universities of the country. "We have cooperation contracts with the University of Cyprus, the Cyprus Institute, the Cyprus University of Technology, Frederick, and the fact that we managed to involve these institutions, which are the best that Cyprus has, in this effort, is the greatest success of the Local Authority", the Mayor said. He pointed out that university organizations have been involved with the prospect of participating in claiming research funds, so they believe that they will have their own benefit.
The actions and proposals of the Limassol Municipality focus on five thematic units: energy, buildings, transport, circular economy and seas and coasts. Alongside and simultaneously with these, there is a horizontal thematic unit concerning digital policies.
