Athienou expresses frustration over failure to open Pyroi crossing

Athienou municipality has expressed strong disappointment over the failure to open the Pyroi crossing point, calling on the two Cypriot leaders and the United Nations to bring the issue back to the negotiating table at their next meetings. The municipality stressed that opening the crossing would reduce travel time between Athienou and Nicosia from the current 45 to 60 minutes to just eight to ten minutes. In a statement, the municipality said its council held an extraordinary meeting on Wednesday, November 11, to review developments concerning the continued closure of the Pyroi crossing. “The municipal council unanimously expressed its strong disappointment over the failure to open the Pyroi crossing, which has remained closed for 52 years,” the statement said. It added that Athienou has been effectively isolated from the road network since 1974, forcing residents to take lengthy detours to reach the capital. The municipality highlighted the financial burden on residents, including increased fuel consumption, vehicle wear and time spent travelling to and from Nicosia. It also pointed to the impact on students, who are forced to pay expensive rents to live in Nicosia rather than commute from their family homes. “Students from Athienou are forced to pay unaffordable rents and live in Nicosia, when they could travel from their homes to their universities in a matter of minutes,” the statement said. Opening the crossing would also help ease traffic congestion at the existing entrance to Nicosia, as residents of the southern and eastern government-controlled areas of Cyprus would be able to use the alternative route. The municipality raised concerns over emergency medical transport, warning that patients travelling by ambulance to Nicosia general hospital currently face journeys of 45 to 60 minutes instead of the eight to ten minutes the Pyroi route would allow. It further argued that reopening the crossing would create opportunities to revitalise the area’s economy, strengthen social and population growth, and improve residents’ daily lives. Concluding its statement, the municipal council called on the two leaders and the United Nations to revisit the issue in their forthcoming meetings and reach an immediate agreement. The council urged them to take into account “the hardship endured by the residents of the area for so many years” and agree without delay to open the Pyroi crossing.