Nicosia, a city rich in history and culture, has been the capital of Cyprus since the 11th century. In the 16th Century, the Venetians granted the city its trademark star-shaped city walls, which separate the Old City "within the walls", from the modern developing Nicosia. Today Nicosia is a cosmopolitan capital and the administrative and commercial centre of Cyprus. The number of inhabitants of greater Nicosia is 250,000 whereas 55,000 inhabitants are in Nicosia Municipality. Powers and responsibilities of the Municipality for its area (inter alia):

a)       Planning authority that exercises development and building control

b)      Preparation and implementation of Area Schemes and public investment projects for the development and regeneration of specific areas, including accessibility/mobility provisions,

c)       Design and construction of roads and pedestrian sidewalks and the overall use of these and other public open spaces and

d)      Regulation of motorized and non-motorized road traffic, designation and regulation of stops, stations and parking places for private and public transport vehicles, including the regulation and management of bus stops.