EIB supports €100 million initiative to improve Cyprus’s road network

• EIB funds Cypriot government €100 million to make road travel easier and safer
• The financial agreement is second tranche of €200m total funding to co-finance network upgrades and extensions
• Works to include environmental management systems such as better water collection and drainage systems.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is funding Cyprus a further €100 million for a range of road improvements in the country. The EIB credit will cover 50% of the costs of planned renovations and extensions to make road travel in Cyprus easier and safer.

The agreement is part of a €200 million approved EIB financing package for Cypriot road infrastructure. The first tranche of €100 million was signed in December 2024. The works, which will cover road networks and infrastructure improvement in various areas across the country, are due to be completed by 2029.

“Investing in essential infrastructure like road networks is vital for strengthening social cohesion and driving economic growth in Cyprus” said EIB Vice-President Kyriacos Kakouris. “This project will have a real and lasting impact on the daily lives of Cypriots — improving mobility, enhancing safety, and boosting climate resilience”.

The EIB’s agreement supports a multiyear national plan by the Cypriot Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works. The plan includes a wide range of works, from upgrading motorways, regional and rural roads, and building new bridges, tunnels and walking and cycling lanes, to upgraded traffic management systems and drainage systems.

“This new financing agreement with the EIB reflects our strong and long-standing partnership. It will allow us to implement essential infrastructure projects that enhance road safety, connectivity, and sustainable mobility across Cyprus. We are grateful for the EIB’s continued support and its role as a key partner in our development efforts”, said Cypriot Minister of Finance Makis Keravnos.

“The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works, with the support of the European Investment Bank, promotes strategic land transport projects in urban and interurban areas, with the aim of improving accessibility in less privileged-isolated areas of Cyprus, enhancing road safety, addressing the impacts of climate change, promote alternative - sustainable travel options, as well as to improve the socio-economic cohesion of our island”, said Eleftherios Eleftheriou, Director of Public Works Department in his speech on behalf of the Minister of Transport, Communications and Works Alexis Vafeadis.

EIB road financing in Cyprus

With this new financing, total EIB’s investment in critical road projects in Cyprus has exceeded €670 million since 1998. Before the two recent €100m accords, the most recent EIB financing for this area in Cyprus was a 112 million loan in 2021 to support four projects in Nicosia, Limassol and Paphos as well as the Vasilikos Energy Centre road.

Background information  

EIB 

The European Investment Bank (ElB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. Built around eight core priorities, we finance investments that contribute to EU policy objectives by bolstering climate action and the environment, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, cohesion, agriculture and bioeconomy, social infrastructure, high-impact investments outside the European Union, and the capital markets union.  

The EIB Group, which also includes the European Investment Fund (EIF), signed nearly €89 billion in new financing for over 900 high-impact projects in 2024, boosting Europe’s competitiveness and security.  

All projects financed by the EIB Group are in line with the Paris Climate Agreement, as pledged in our Climate Bank Roadmap. Almost 60% of the EIB Group’s annual financing supports projects directly contributing to climate change mitigation, adaptation, and a healthier environment.  

Fostering market integration and mobilising investment, the Group supported a record of over €100 billion in new investment for Europe’s energy security in 2024 and mobilised €110 billion in growth capital for startups, scale-ups and European pioneers. Approximately half of the EIB's financing within the European Union is directed towards cohesion regions, where per capita income is lower than the EU average.

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