Larnaca port set to be ‘a jewel for Cyprus’

The Larnaca Port and Marina redevelopment project is expected to significantly reinforce the Cypriot economy, contributing an estimated 100 million euros or more per year, Cyprus’ Minister of Transport, Communications and Works Yiannis Karousos said on Friday.

Accompanied by lawmakers from the Cypriot Parliament’s Transport Committee, Karousos visited Larnaca Port, the Larnaca District Public Works Engineering Office and the city’s Archaeological Museum.

He said that he was briefed on the progress of the work for the Larnaca Port and Marina, adding that this is the biggest investment project in Cyprus right now, worth more than €1.2 billion.

“Everything is going according to plan,” said Karousos, adding that “by April 1 we will be ready to hand the Larnaca Port and Marina to the investor.” The minister also said that the Cypriot economy is set to benefit to the tune of around €120 million per year.

The company that has been awarded the redevelopment contract, Kition Ocean Holdings, has said that, according to its master plan, the project is expected to be completed in four phases. Besides the redevelopment of the port and the marina, the project also concerns the real estate development of the area in the republic’s third largest city.

According to Panos Alexandrou, the contractor’s chief executive officer, the first works will concern the upgrade of the port’s existing pier followed by other infrastructure necessary for the completion of the project. The first phase will be completed in the next five years.

The chairman of the House’s Transport Committee, Marinos Mousiouttas, meanwhile, said that the members of Parliament were also briefed on the works in progress, saying that all stakeholders in Larnaca agree that the new port and marina “will be a jewel for the city and the country as a whole.”

MPs will monitor the course of the work and are ready to help wherever this is necessary, said Mousiouttas.

Larnaca Mayor Andreas Vyras thanked the MPs for their interest and expressed his satisfaction over the progress of the work, which is going according to plan.

He went on to say that Larnaca has been fighting for these works for decades. The port and the marina will boost the economy and will improve the quality of life in the city as a whole, he added.