The Cyprus Land Development Organisation (KOAG) is getting ready to launch a big project to provide housing for low-income residents of Limassol.
The first houses will be built in June 2025, and the apartments will be rented out at 25–30% less than similar options on the local market.
KOAG is expected to sign an agreement with the Limassol municipality on Wednesday to get land in the Agios Nikolaos area. The organisation will also get a second plot in the Agios Ioannis area later. This will mean 600 affordable homes will be built in the city.
The project is expected to cost around €100 million in total. It'll be rolled out in phases. The first phase involves the construction of four modern six-storey buildings with 138 apartments of various configurations:
- 24 two-bedroom flats.
- 72 with two bedrooms,
- 36 three-bedroom house.
- 6 a six-bedroom flat
Of these, 94 apartments will stay under KOAG management, and 44 will be transferred to the municipality so that the city can use them for families in need and socially vulnerable groups. At the start, they're planning to invest over €22 million in construction.
Tiseas Ioannou, a board member at KOAG, says that the Limassol project is the first government initiative in Cyprus to create affordable rental housing. It's a joint effort between a government agency and municipal authorities.
This is about more than just building stuff. It's a big deal for getting society on an even keel and making housing cheaper in one of the priciest places on the island. Just to let you know, KOAG isn't planning to stop at Limassol. They're going to be building more than 400 housing units all over the country. Just so you know, you can already buy apartments in the finished Ekali project in Nicosia and the Ianthi project in Larnaca. They're also building new homes in the Kokkinotrimiti settlement in the Nicosia area. Here's what we've got lined up for 2025:
- 29 homes in the Pano Polemidia area of Limassol.
- 15 apartments in the Agios Dometios area of Nicosia.
- 18 in the Lakatamia area of Nicosia,
- 48 in the Palouriotissa district of Nicosia.
- 25 in the Kaymakli district of Nicosia.
With house prices and rents going up fast, especially in Limassol, this kind of initiative is really important. Prices in this city are among the highest on the island, and social tensions are growing. We need to find some urgent solutions. Local experts say there's a big demand for cheap housing in the area, but there just aren't enough properties to go around.
Creating these kinds of projects will help ease pressure on the housing market and show other places that working together is the way to solve housing problems.