Tension is mounting in Larnaca over the government’s plans for the port and marina after the Transport Minister made clear that the Cyprus Ports Authority (CPA) will not be presenting a development proposal to local stakeholders until political decisions have been taken — contradicting assurances that local officials say they received directly from CPA representatives.
Mayor calls emergency meeting
Larnaca Mayor Andreas Vyras called an emergency Development Committee meeting for April 17 after being briefed by Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades. Vyras told philenews the minister called him directly to clarify the government’s position.
“The Transport Minister called me and told me that the CPA is not authorised to make us a proposal, that he was waiting for our written response to the Growthfund proposals that were presented, and that he does not consider the statements made since that day — February 20 — that we want development of the land areas to count for anything,” Vyras said.
The minister also told him, Vyras said, that while he does not object to developing the land areas, the decision on which areas will be released will rest with the Growthfund study and Dutch experts — not the CPA. A city delegation would then need to meet with him to decide what developments they want in those areas.
“I cannot understand why the CPA cannot make us a proposal. I think we are losing time,” Vyras said. “The CPA is an arm of the state and we believed there was coordination. We were surprised by this development.”
Vyras confirmed that a meeting with CPA officials had taken place, adding that the minister told him it should not have happened as the CPA is not authorised and that stakeholders should be dealing with the Ministry directly.
Minister: No formal position received
Vafeades told philenews he had received no written position from Larnaca stakeholders beyond a proposal from EVEL following the Growthfund presentation on February 20.
“The mayor and the EOAL president had expressed that they wanted development of the land areas, but nothing was formally communicated to us,” he said.
When it was put to him that Larnaca stakeholders’ positions had been extensively covered in print and online media, Vafeades said that published reports were one thing, but that the correct approach would have been a formal letter, as EVEL had done. “It seems there was a misunderstanding,” he added.
On the CPA’s role, he was unambiguous. “The CPA will not proceed with further planning or consultations until political decisions are taken. After that we will proceed as decided,” he said.
“There are many suggestions for what could be done with the land areas — some say hotels, some theme parks, some shops. What is the CPA studying, given that no political decisions have been taken yet? The political decisions must be made first, and then we can move forward with any further planning,” Vafeades said.
Growthfund study due end of April
Vafeades said the Growthfund study will be presented by the end of April. It will cover which land areas can be released as well as costings for four of the six scenarios — two for the marina and two for the port — that were previously proposed.
“I gave the instructions myself to have these studies done. I was waiting for Larnaca, saw nothing, and did it myself so we could have answers as soon as possible,” he said.