Cyprus’s long-delayed Public Warning System (PWS) is expected to be fully operational by June, the Interior Ministry has confirmed, bringing an end to years of setbacks caused by tender cancellations and repeated objections.
The delays drew criticism, particularly after catastrophic wildfires in the Limassol district in July 2025 claimed two lives and burned around 120 square kilometres of mountain land, prompting questions about why the system was not yet in place.
The system will send mass emergency alerts directly to mobile phones in affected areas, triggering a loud alarm sound even on silent devices and displaying instructions automatically — without requiring an internet connection, a dedicated app or platform registration. It will cover emergencies including fires, earthquakes, terrorist attacks and military hostilities.
Civil Defence will transmit alerts via mobile network antennas in the affected area, with each relevant authority responsible for notifying Civil Defence: the National Guard in wartime, the Police for terrorist incidents, the Forest Department and Fire Service for fires, and the Geological Survey Department for earthquakes.
“The target set from the outset for implementation next June is achievable and will be delivered,” Interior Minister Ioannou said, adding that technical issues that had emerged with telecoms providers had been resolved.
Years in the making
The project has had a troubled path. The first tender was launched in 2022 but was cancelled in May 2024 following objections to the Tender Review Authority over the composition of the Evaluation Committee. An attempt to reclassify the project as a security and defence matter — which would have allowed a faster procurement process — was rejected by the Legal Service on the grounds that the project had not been classified as such in the original tender.
The Interior Ministry brought in a foreign expert to redesign the tender documents, re-launching the process in December 2024 with a submission deadline at the end of February 2025. Technical evaluation was completed by mid-July 2025, and the objection period expired on 3 August 2025 without any challenges. The contract was signed at the end of September 2025, with delivery set for the first half of 2026.
The PWS will supplement existing public information tools and forms part of a broader Civil Protection reorganisation the government has been implementing since 2024.
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