Cyprus president unveils 'ambitious' economic stimulus plan

Cyprus president unveils 'ambitious' economic stimulus plan

SeattlePI.com

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NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus' president on Monday unveiled a 4.4 billion-euro ($5.34 billion) economic stimulus plan, which he described as the “most ambitious ever” in the country’s 61-year history as an independent republic.

Nicos Anastasiades said the five-pronged plan is projected to add another 7% to the gross domestic product over the next five years and at least 11,000 new jobs in the European Union-member country with a population of approximately 875,000.

“The plan, ‘Cyprus — The Next Day’ is a courageous step forward and a new and necessary development model for the future,” Anastasiades told reporters.

“It’s the road map for the post-COVID-19 era," he said.

Anastasiades said the plan would draw 1.2 billion euros in funding from the EU-approved Recovery and Resilience program, 1.8 billion euros from the EU’s Structural and Investment Funds as well as a projected 1.4 billion euros in private investment or collaborations between the private and public sectors.

The plan will channel funding to five broad areas — public health, boosting the “green” economy, bolstering competitiveness, conversion into a digital economy and investing in human capital.

Although short on details, Anastasiades offered several examples of how the plan will unfold.

For instance, the plan foresees modernizing and upgrading all public and private hospitals including purchasing new medical equipment.

On promoting environmentally-friendly energy generation, the plan includes making schools and public buildings more energy self-sufficient through the installation of photovoltaic panels, funding programs to encourage small and middle-sized businesses to become less energy wasteful and developing a grid for the use of electric cars.

Research and development will receive a boost, red tape...

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