The Nicosia District Local Government Organisation is ready to manage the restored Kotsiatis landfill to harness biogas trapped within it, organisation president Constantinos Yiorkadjis said.
Yiorkadjis announced the plan during a review of the organisation’s 18 months of operation.
Converting the biogas to electricity will help local communities through offsetting measures, relieving the burden they suffered in recent decades from landfill use, he said.
The move will also reduce the organisation’s dependence on the conventional electricity market and lower its carbon footprint.
Proper biogas management will stop this natural resource being burned via flare and burdening the area, Yiorkadjis said.
The number of pending development permits inherited by the Nicosia District Local Government Organisation is staggering: 325,000 files were in its drawers as of 1 July 2024.
According to Yiorkadjis, the organisation records a monthly increasing rate of processing submitted applications, with notable percentages of 94% for town planning permits and 99% for building permits, despite IT and other problems that existed from the start and emerged along the way.
On water supply, Yiorkadjis said the organisation manages a 2,565-kilometre water supply network, increased by 115 kilometres compared with 2024, serving over 170,000 water meters.
During the period, 8,248 repairs, network upgrades and smart meter replacements were completed, aiming to save water, reduce losses and ensure drinking water quality.
Particular emphasis is placed on reducing non-revenue water, currently at around 20%, with a clear plan for further reduction in coming years through technology investments, leak detection and infrastructure upgrades, he said.
On sewerage, the organisation manages a 1,645-kilometre network extended to suburban and mountainous Nicosia.
Pumping station upgrade projects will increase their pumping capacity by 20% and wastewater treatment plants are being upgraded, increasing capacity and ensuring system operational safety, whilst major development projects are planned for 2026 in urban and rural areas.
A tender is planned for sewerage construction works in South Nicosia-Idalion municipality and Kato Pyrgos Tillyrias, with a total value of approximately €85 million.
The announcement of the project to reconstruct the central sewage pipeline in Mia Milia, with simultaneous installation of a pipeline to return treated water to free areas, is considered a major success.
On solid waste management, Yiorkadjis said the Nicosia District Local Government Organisation is developing and expanding Green Points, collection points and reuse infrastructure, strengthening the circular economy and contributing to reducing waste sent to landfill.
Beyond the eight existing Green Points operating in Nicosia district, five new Green Points are planned.
Three are already under construction, whilst for the other two, competent state services are in the site allocation process before the Nicosia District Local Government Organisation undertakes their construction.