The Limassol – Saittas Motorway is one of Cyprus’s most significant strategic transport projects, designed to provide a modern, safe, and high-speed link between the coastal city of Limassol and the mountainous Saittas region. This 22.5 km motorway is engineered to alleviate the heavy traffic and high accident rates of the existing road network, while promoting the socio-economic development of the Troodos mountain communities.
NAMA played a leading role in the project’s technical development, delivering the comprehensive final designs and implementation studies required for this complex terrain.
Engineering Excellence in Challenging Topography
The project is characterized by its sophisticated structural requirements and the need to navigate the steep and varied landscape of the island's interior. NAMA’s multidisciplinary contribution included:
- Extensive Road and Interchange Network: In addition to the 22.5 km main motorway, NAMA designed 25 km of secondary roads and 31.6 km of upgrades to the existing network. The project features nine intersections of various configurations to ensure seamless connectivity.
- Complex Bridge Engineering: The motorway includes several landmark technical works, most notably the 190-meter-long "Garili" River Overpass Bridge and a 56.65-meter Underpass Bridge. In total, the design incorporated six valley bridges, eleven flyover bridges, and six underpass bridges.
- Underground and Retaining Works: To stabilize the mountainous slopes, NAMA designed 11 km of retaining walls and a 300-meter-long "cut and cover" tunnel, ensuring the road’s longevity and safety against landslides.
- Hydraulic and Environmental Management: Extensive hydraulic studies were conducted for storm water drainage and river settling to protect the infrastructure from the region’s seasonal flash floods.
- Integrated Scientific Support: The project required deep technical verification through topographic surveys, transport modeling, and exhaustive geological and geotechnical investigations.
Key Figures and Strategic Impact
The Limassol – Saittas Motorway represents a massive investment in Cyprus’s national infrastructure, with key figures highlighting its scale:
- Investment Value: The first phase of the project alone (Polemidia to Palodeia) has a budget exceeding €31 million, part of a total estimated investment of over €160 million for all phases.
- Traffic Efficiency: Once fully completed, the motorway is expected to reduce travel time between Limassol and the mountainous regions by nearly 50%.
- Regional Revival: By providing a safe 4-lane link (two lanes per direction with a central median), the project aims to reverse the trend of urban migration, encouraging residents and businesses to remain in the rural Troodos area.
For NAMA, the Limassol – Saittas Motorway stands as a flagship project in highway engineering. It demonstrates our ability to deliver a holistic suite of services—from structural bridge design to complex geological risk management—supporting vital national transport corridors that connect people and strengthen economies.
