Newsroom
For residents of eight communities west of Nicosia, the asphalt plant dispute is not simply about where an industrial facility should be placed on a map. It is about the air their families will breathe every day.
Residents of Mitsero, Agrokipia, Malounta, Aredio, Agios Ioannis, Kato Moni, Orounta and Menoikos gathered outside the Supreme Court on Thursday to oppose the relocation of an asphalt plant from the Dali area to Mitsero.
The communities say they have not been treated fairly and warn that they are prepared to take the case to a European court if they exhaust their legal options in Cyprus.
“The only weapon we have is protest,” Agrokipia community leader Sotiris Kyriakou told the Cyprus News Agency.
Kyriakou said the demonstration was intended to send a message to the government and the Legal Service, which residents believe have failed to listen to their concerns.
“At least we want to send some messages in all directions, because both our state and the Legal Service have forgotten us,” he said.
The communities are seeking an interim court order to freeze work connected to the relocation. Kyriakou said an immediate ruling on the application was not expected.
However, residents say the clock is already ticking.
According to Kyriakou, the contractor has begun work at the proposed site, including levelling the ground. That has added to fears among residents that the project could move forward while its legal and environmental questions remain unresolved.
At the center of the dispute are concerns about the possible effects on the health and quality of life of people living in the surrounding villages. Residents argue that these risks have not been given enough weight and claim the studies required for such a plant were not properly carried out.
For the families living in the area, the issue is deeply personal. An asphalt plant may serve projects across Cyprus, but its possible noise, traffic, and environmental impact would be felt most directly by the people whose homes, schools, and daily lives are nearby.
The proposed move follows years of controversy over asphalt plants operating in the Dali area. But residents around Mitsero argue that transferring the problem from one group of communities to another is not a real solution.
Their message outside the Supreme Court was straightforward: development should not come at the expense of communities that feel they have had little say in decisions affecting their health and homes.
With work reportedly beginning and the legal case still pending, the dispute is unlikely to fade quietly. If the communities do not find what they consider justice in Cyprus, they say their next stop could be Europe.
