Shopkeepers on Naxou Street in Nicosia say business has fallen by as much as 40 per cent because of roadworks that have run well past their deadline. Almost five months after work began, the street is still closed. The Nicosia Municipality says the contractor has promised to finish “very soon”, but no date has been set.
Work began on May 27. The municipality had announced August 11 as the expected date for reopening Orfeos Street and the second section of Naxou Street.
Businesses say access remains difficult and their losses are growing. They complain that virtually no work has been done for weeks.
When Phileleftheros visited the street on Tuesday, there were no workers on site. Pavements were dug up and trenches left open, with pipes, cables and building materials along the road. Asphalt has been laid in several places, but a good deal of work remains. Traders told Phileleftheros that the last substantial work was carried out before the August holidays and that there had been no significant progress since.
Responding to questions from Phileleftheros, the municipality said the second section of Naxou Street had been reopened to traffic in line with a schedule it announced on June 23. Outstanding work by utility authorities then made it necessary to close the road again, it said.
The municipality added that its services are in constant contact with the contractor. The contractor has given assurances that the work will be completed very soon and the street reopened.
The owner of a health and beauty products shop said in a written complaint that his revenue had fallen sharply and he had been forced to let an employee go.
It is not the first time he has faced such problems. He previously ran a business on Kallipoleos Avenue, where, he says, works planned for six months took 18. He says he had to sell personal property at the time to avoid bankruptcy. He later moved to Naxou Street, where he is now facing the effects of long-running works again.
Andreas, who owns a barber’s shop in the area, said there are days when he does not open at all because so few customers come in. “The situation is tragic,” he told Phileleftheros. He explained that his older customers find it particularly hard to reach the shop. He was serving a customer when Phileleftheros arrived. When the reporter joked about finding him busy, he replied, also in jest, that the reporters had been lucky.
Parking is another problem. Another business owner said several customers phone ahead to ask whether the road has reopened to traffic.
Businesses that work with delivery platforms are also affected. Couriers struggle to reach them, so deliveries are delayed, and owners said they receive negative reviews from customers as a result.
Traders complain that they have been offered no compensation measures.
They also raised concerns about pedestrian safety. A hair salon owner said one of her customers fell into a trench while trying to reach her premises.
The municipality said that once the project is finished, the area will have accessible pavements, full flood protection, modern infrastructure and marked roadside parking spaces.
