The capital of Cyprus joined the map of innovative European cities, following the direction for smart and sustainable cities, President Nikos Christodoulides said on Monday, at the inauguration of the project “Development of Smart City Infrastructure and Systems” of Nicosia Municipality, in the framework of “THALIA 2021-2027” project.
He said that Cyprus, due to its size, can achieve the goal of a green and digital Europe much faster than other EU member states, adding that Nicosia, being a pioneer, has already implemented a series of effective smart solutions for the residents of the capital through the co-financed “THALIA 2021-2027” project.
Read more: CY: ‘Nicosia joins map of innovative European cities’
Nicosia municipality presented on Thursday a parking app which will help drivers find available spots, as it hailed the development as promoting greener and more accessible policies.
The app, called Smart Parking Nicosia City, is co-funded by the EU Smart City project and is being promoted as offering a comprehensive information system for drivers.
Nicosia’s smart city project won first place among 100 nominations across Europe for evaluating the best smart green solutions, the municipality announced on Friday.
Smart Nicosia, a project carried out in cooperation with Nokia and Cyta, was distinguished by the European Green Digital Coalition Initiative.
Nicosia has made its inaugural appearance in the IMD Smart City Index report, placing at 117th out of 141 smart cities.
The report, available at https://imd.cld.bz/IMD-Smart-City-Index-Report-20231/28/, assigned Nicosia a CC grade for the “Structures” pillar and a C grade for “Technologies”.
According to a press release by the Nicosia Municipality, the research highlights several key findings. Road congestion emerged as a significant concern, garnering the highest priority rating among residents, with a percentage of 67.2%. Housing and corruption were also prominent issues, scoring 51.3% and 45.4% respectively, while safety ranked third and fourth at 45.4%.
Read more: CY: Nicosia makes debut in Smart Cities Index, showing room for improvement
Six smart and digital city projects implemented by the Municipality of Paphos were inaugurated recently helping the coastal city to be named the European Capital of Smart Tourism for 2023.
The projects concern the implementation and maintenance of the LoRaWAN Network, the smart parking management system (Smart Parking), and the development and maintenance of a geographic information system (GIS).
Read more: CY: Paphos becomes a ‘smart’ city after launch of six digital projects