Ministry to install 94 new EV charging ports at €10m cost

The transport ministry is planning to install 94 new fast charging points for electric vehicles over the next couple of years, at a total cost of €10 million, Transport Minister Evie Tsolaki said in a letter made public on Friday. Tsolaki explained that 76 ports were for light vehicles and 18 for heavy vehicles. In a response dated October 7 to a question raised by Larnaca MP Prodromos Alambritis, the minister said the plan provided for ten recharging areas for light vehicles and three for heavy vehicles, aimed at covering the whole road network. Apart from the three urban hubs in Nicosia, Larnaca and Limassol, new plan provides for charging points in Alambra, Kofinou, Evrychou, Saittas, Mandria, Polis Chryschous and Paralimni. The installation of 16 fast recharging points for light vehicles is planned for 2026, while an additional 48 points for light vehicles and 12 for heavy vehicles are planned for 2027. The remaining points are to be developed in 2028. According to the minister, the necessary appropriations for the infrastructure planned for 2026 and 2027 have been included in the electromechanical services department budget. Ten light vehicle charging stations will have a total of 76 fast recharging points, each with a power of 150 kW. The three heavy vehicle charging stations will have 18 points, of which 12 will have a power of 350 kW and six will have a power of 200 kW. So far, 384 publicly accessible recharging points have been installed in Cyprus, at 221 stations. Of these, 76 are located in Nicosia, 57 in Limassol, 32 in Paphos, 29 in Larnaca and 27 in Famagusta. Tsolaki said ten fast recharging stations have already been installed in publicly accessible areas, including in the carparks of the general hospitals of Nicosia, Larnaca, Limassol, Kyperounda and Famagusta, in Troodos square, at the archaeological site of Choirokitia, in Trimiklini, at the Tombs of the Kings bus station in Paphos and at the Polis Chrysochous bus station. These stations were installed within the framework of the recovery and resilience plan, at a total cost of €840,660. Furthermore, as part of the effort to revitalise the Tillyria area and transform Kato Pyrgos into a green community, a 100 kW fast-charging station was installed at the fishing shelter in Kato Pyrgos. The station can serve two vehicles simultaneously, with the cost of the project amounting to €77,000. Tsolaki said that 212 charging points had been installed from 2022 till 2026 in publicly accessible areas, businesses and local authorities, in the framework of the Electricity with 1000 sponsorship plan. Electromobility, she said, did not rely exclusively on the development of public stations, but also on the installation of private charging points in homes and businesses, which could utilise energy produced from photovoltaic systems.