Newsroom
For most people, 12 kilometres is a quick drive. For Athienou residents, it represents a route to Nicosia that has remained out of reach for decades.
Opening the Pyroi crossing would place the town just 12 kilometres from Aglantzia, easing the isolation that continues to shape residents’ journeys, businesses and everyday lives.
President Nikos Christodoulides said the crossing remains a priority for the Greek Cypriot side and will stay on his agenda when he travels to New York.
“Think what opening this crossing would mean—being only 12 kilometres from Nicosia,” he said during an event marking 100 years since the establishment of Athienou Municipality. “That is exactly why we will continue to insist.”
Christodoulides said a proposal described as a “reasonable compromise” was presented at the latest meeting held in the presence of the United Nations secretary-general. The Greek Cypriot side accepted it, he said, but it was rejected by the Turkish side.
The president made clear that the issue is about more than placing another crossing point on the map.
Athienou’s location near the ceasefire line has left the municipality geographically isolated, affecting travel, trade and its ability to attract investment. For residents, the consequences of the island’s division are not confined to negotiations or political speeches, they are felt every time someone travels to work, delivers goods or tries to grow a local business.
“You cannot talk about Athienou’s development prospects without talking about the illegal occupation since 1974,” Christodoulides said.
The president also outlined several government projects intended to make the town a more attractive place to live and work.
These include regeneration projects worth more than €5.9 million, improvements to Athienou Health Centre and plans for a dairy and cheesemaking school drawing on the area’s farming tradition.
The government is also supporting the establishment of a University of Thessaly branch in Athienou, with a focus on veterinary medicine.
Under housing schemes for remote and disadvantaged areas, 121 applications from families in Athienou have been approved, with assistance exceeding €5.3 million.
Christodoulides also announced that the former cooperative bank building would be handed over for local use and that the lighting at Othellos’ football stadium would be replaced.
But among the projects, promises and millions announced, the Pyroi crossing remains the change likely to be felt most immediately.
