Supporting The Public Sector of Cyprus

Education

There are nine years of compulsory education starting at the age of six – primary school comprises six years and secondary six. There are private schools serving all ages of children. Some 95 per cent of pupils complete primary school (2007).

Health

Health and medical care in Cyprus is delivered through a combination of public and private organisations. The Ministry of Health is responsible for public health care distribution. Free government health care is taken up by 65 per cent of the population and is also extended to Turkish Cypriots inhabiting the occupied area of the country. A meticulously planned National Health System aimed at providing universal primary care-based coverage for the country was proposed in 2001 and the implementation of this system is ongoing. The country’s private health sector is well developed and has gained a reputation internationally with visitors from the EU and Middle East coming to take advantage of the quality, low-cost services on offer.

Transport

Cyprus is served by a network of approximately 12,200 km of roads, of which 65 per cent are paved. Motorways comprise 2.2 per cent of the total road network and link Nicosia, Limassol, Paphos and the Famagusta area. There is no rail network in Cyprus.

Ports: The country has a well-developed port infrastructure that supports Cyprus as a regional shipping hub. The major ports are found at Larnaca and Limassol. Under the new privatisation plan, the Cyprus Port Authority is to remain the state-owned regulatory authority for ports. Limassol port, the busiest on the island, was scheduled to proceed through a licensing round at the close of 2013, while a new commercial port is currently being built in Larnaca under a public–private partnership programme.

Airports: International airports are located at Larnaca and Paphos. The airport serving the capital, Nicosia, has been closed since 1974. A public–private partnership aimed at boosting the country’s tourist infrastructure won the World Finance award for Best Transport Project in Europe 2013. The project, originally signed in 2006, is a 25-year build–operate–transfer concession to develop and operate Cyprus’s two international airports, Larnaka and Paphos.