Yesterday the French Ambassador to Cyprus met with the mayor of Paphos to discussed the town’s efforts to transform itself into a so-called ‘smart’ city. Ambassador Rene Troccaz met with Mayor Phedon Phedonos for the second time on the subject of making bringing the city up to speed in digital.
According to the reports, the Phedonos and Troccaz discussed a ‘smart’ city package which covers advanced digital services like the creation of a digital platform, applications to support tourists, entrepreneurship, and more. The plan would implement the installation of Wi-Fi hotspots, and advanced smart devices and other initiatives to create an e-government.
Ambassador Troccaz was informed of two Paphos projects which had already been given the green light last year. The projects had been submitted under the INTERREG V-A Cross-Border Cooperation Programme: Greece-Cyprus 2014-2020, according to the news.
The first project sees the town in the role of lead partner, with the co-operation of twinned municipalities of Chania and Lesbos. The co-financing programme provides for city-based applications and infrastructures. A spokesperson was cited:
“The study for this is already underway and it includes a business plan for the smart city actions, a strategic plan including city marketing, city branding, and others.”
The second project called ‘ECORouTS’ , is slated to kick-off next month, according to the spokesperson. This program aims to reduce carbon emissions from urban transport and the municipality.
For this project, Paphos is a partner (not a lead partner) and the municipalities of Heraklion, Chania, and Aradippou are also involved.