President Nikos Christodoulides on Friday night announced that a new hospital will be built in Polis Chrysochous.

Speaking during a visit to the town, he said that “preparatory actions have already begun” and that “we will soon proceed with the necessary studies for the implementation of the project”.

“This is a project which, no lie, we must be honest, as a state, we should have implemented many years ago. This is not only a necessary infrastructure project, a project of primary importance, but a historical vindication for the region and its people, and a due obligation on the part of the state,” he said.

Polis Chrysochous mayor Yiotis Papachristofi, meanwhile, said the hospital’s construction has not come before time, stressing that “the needs of the area’s residents for medical care and attention are multiplying”.

The hospital will be built on the site of a former army base.

Papachristofi had made public his demands for a new hospital in December last year, writing a letter to Health Minister Michael Damianos in which he said his municipality needs “special support” from the central government to be able to “ensure proper and adequate medical care for its residents”.

With this in mind, he said the existing hospital in Polis Chrysochous has “significant problems”, most of which have come about due to its age. He pointed out that parts of the building were built during British colonial rule and that they therefore “no longer meet the area’s modern needs”.

He added that the area’s needs have “increased significantly in recent years”, with its population often more than doubling in the summer months due to tourism, and with the completion of the highway connecting it to Paphos set to bring an even greater increase in demand.