Background

The “Local Infrastructure Facility” (LIF) Unit is working with local communities to support the development and implementation of projects to improve urban and rural areas.

LIF launched in April 2019 with the aim of providing support and technical assistance for the design and implementation of projects which aim to improve environmental, social and economic infrastructure in the Turkish Cypriot community.

LIF is part of the projects and initiatives funded by the European Union (EU) designed to support confidence building measures in Cyprus.

LIF coordinates and executes infrastructure projects funded by the European Union and is implemented by the United Nations Development Programme.

It has the mandate to identify, select, bring to maturation, tender and implement sustainable projects selected through a continued participatory process involving the EU, UNDP and the local communities.

Projects & Areas of Impact

Works and services which are completed, ongoing, or in the process of being procured under the LIF project are:

1 - COVID-19 response:

In 2020, to help battle Covid-19, the LIF project has provided support by providing the general hospital and the local communities in the northern part of Cyprus with kits, hygienic items and relevant PPE. This activity contributed to the good health and wellbeing of the Turkish Cypriot community.

2 - Centre for Cooperation:

This project aims to promote peace, reconciliation and coexistence through a multifunctional facility for young people, offering spaces for cultural sport activities, camping and learning in a village of Western part of Kyrenia area. This activity contributes to the sustainability of the local community. The works are ongoing and are expected to be completed by September 2022.

3 - Extension of the Waste Water Treatment Plant:

This project aims to expand the existing capacity of the Waste Water Treatment Plant in the Western part of Nicosia area from 1,350 mᶟ/day to 2,700 mᶟ/day. The activity provides an added value by providing clean water and sanitation. A Design & Build contract is ongoing and the works are expected to be completed by July 2023.

4 - Old City Sun Shading:

This project aims to provide shading for the commercial streets of the old town of Nicosia. This activity contributes to the sustainability of old Nicosia city and has added value for the local entrepreneurs. The procurement of the works is ongoing. The project is expected to be completed by August 2021.

5 - Turkish Cypriot Community Nicosia Walled City Public Services Feasibility Study:

The objective is to develop a comprehensive feasibility and sustainability study for the improvement of public services within the boundaries of the Nicosia Walled City in the Turkish Cypriot community. This activity promotes investment in local infrastructural capacities, which is designed to benefit the sustainability of Nicosia city and the community’s resilience.

The  pre-selected projects that are still in the design phase and/or maturation under the LIF project are:

1 - Industrial and Septage Waste Treatment Facility:
This is related to the modification and upgrading of the existing Nicosia Waste Water Treatment Plant (Nicosia WWTP) for the treatment of septic and industrial wastewater, enabling the decommissioning of some of the current ponds. The activity provides an added value in terms of providing clean water and sanitation.

2 - Children Village:

The LIF project will build a new facility whose objective is to provide a healthy and safe environment for child development and parent-children quality time as well as enabling interactions between children from different cultures. The facility will contribute to many aspects of the community and is mainly designed for the children and parents of the Mesaoria region.

3 - Friendly energy systems in a Nicosia local community:

One of the thematic areas of LIF for which project proposals have been made is the “Energy Efficiency in Buildings and Facilities.” Within the scope of these proposals, this project has been selected for its aim to combat climate change.

4 - Replacing existing Wastewater Pumps with Smart Pumps for Energy Efficiency:

One of the thematic areas of LIF for which project proposals have been made is the “Energy Efficiency in Buildings and Facilities.” Within the scope of these proposals, this project has been selected for its aim to combat climate change.

5 - Wetlands Rehabilitation in Famagusta:

This activity is designed to protect, restore, and promote the sustainable use of ecosystems and to reverse land degradation while halting biodiversity loss. This activity will focus on the rehabilitation of wetlands in Mesaoria, Famagusta.

6 - Pedieos River Rehabilitation Project:

This activity aims to develop Pedieos river to offer a green recreational area across the buffer zone to be used by the people of both communities of Nicosia. This project is designed to promote community interactions.

7 - Multicultural day-care centre and women handicraft centre in Famagusta Project:

Multicultural Child Day Care and Multicultural Women Handicraft Centre in a village of Famagusta will be located in the Town Centre near the shopping area. The aim of the project is to provide job opportunities to women in the region, while their children are being taken care of at the day-care centre. The project will promote gender equality by developing new job opportunities for women and contribute to the wellbeing of children in the area.

8 - Nicosia sewerage project:

With the support of the European Commission, the local community has developed a sewerage plan for a Nicosia locality in 2018. The plan foresees two phases of implementation, sub-divided into 5 zones. The planning horizon of implementation of both phases is 2040 and a population of about 15,000. The technical designs include the collection of all wastewater produced within the residential area and the discharge of sewage into the north Nicosia Trunk Sewer (NNTS) main trunk sewer, which is under construction and which will deliver the wastewater to the Nicosia Wastewater Treatment Plant. The project contributes to clean water and sanitation.

Cross-cutting activities under LIF project:

1 - Capacity Building:

Under the framework of the LIF Call for Proposals, capacity building activities are being implemented since 2020, with the active involvement of local community representatives. The aim of the activities is to support the local communities in developing fully-fledged project proposals within the thematic area specified by LIF, ie. Energy Efficiency in Public Buildings.  

The women representatives of the local communities have shown great interest and have benefited from the capacity building activities with a significant rate of participation.

2 - Gender Mainstreaming:

Gender mainstreaming is a key part of the LIF project. LIF aims to enable the full participation of women in all areas, from construction to decision-making. A gender balanced stakeholder and community participation is envisaged, both within UNDP’s LIF Technical Experts and Management Teams, as well as in the LIF governance mechanisms and partners.

In addition to the above mentioned, a gender action plan, an assessment & risk report as well as a fully-fledged training programme will be developed, providing some activities, performance targets and indicators aiming to address the specific roles and needs of women in local infrastructure by:

• Ensuring gender balanced stakeholder and community participation;
• Facilitating the active and equal participation of men and women in the target population in the implementation of the project;
• Developing gender-responsive indicators to assess if the project generates the intended benefits for both men and women;
• Assessing the capacities of government authorities to implement the recommendations from the gender analysis and providing support as needed to ensure leadership.

How gender mainstreaming will be implemented:

The analysis will identify differences between women and men in local communities and communities regarding rights, participation/representation, access to and use of resources, values and norms that affect gender-specific behaviour, and identify gender gaps among local community representatives.v

During UNDP’s 2022-2025 Strategic Plan and beyond, UNDP will be accompanying communities towards the SDGs, driven by development choices. To this end, UNDP supports communities of Cyprus in building resilience through strengthening institutions to prevent, mitigate and respond to crisis, conflict, natural disasters, climate and social and economic shocks. 

To respond to today’s development challenges, powered by digitalization, innovation and development financing, UNDP utilizes multilateral cooperation to address the shared challenges that cross boundaries and time.