In Vasiliko, near Limassol, construction has been completed on a new terminal for storing strategic fuel reserves for the Cyprus Organization for the Management of Petroleum Products Reserves (KODAP).
Its official opening will take place on November 24. Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides will attend the ceremony. The event is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.
The new facility is of strategic importance for the country’s energy security. It is designed to store state fuel reserves needed in the event of supply disruptions.
All work has already been completed, and the fuel reserves have been transported to the new site. The terminal is equipped with seven storage tanks with a total capacity of approximately 173,000 metric tons. This was reported at a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Finance and Budget, where the 2026 supplementary budget for KODAP was discussed.
Construction was delayed by about a year
According to KOAP CEO Yorgos Karagiorgis, the facility was officially accepted on June 3, 2026—approximately one year later than the original deadline.
The contractor was charged 1.275 million euros for the delay. This amount corresponds to the maximum penalty of 2.5% stipulated in the contract.
However, the amount of the penalty raised questions for Odysseas Michailidis, leader of the “Alma” party. He noted that in standard contract documents for similar projects, the maximum penalty can reach 20%.
According to information that Michailidis said he received from the organization, the losses due to the delay amounted to approximately 6 million euros. He estimated that, as a result, the state incurred financial losses of about 5 million euros.
Karagiorgis explained that the 2.5% rate was stipulated in the contract from the very beginning. According to him, a higher penalty could have affected the contractor’s bid and led to an increase in the cost of the work.
After the project was accepted, a list of approximately 250 observations and items of unfinished work was also compiled. To date, about 70% of the identified problems have been resolved.
In addition, a two-year warranty period is in effect until June 2028. During this time, the contractor is obligated to correct any defects found at its own expense.
How many days will Cyprus’s strategic fuel reserves last?
Under current requirements, KODAP is obligated to maintain petroleum product reserves equivalent to 90 days of average daily net imports. For 2025–2026, the organization’s total obligation amounts to approximately 576,000 metric tons of fuel.
The capacity of the new terminal in Vasiliko covers approximately 30% of this volume. Cyprus stores the remainder of its strategic reserves at other facilities both on the island and in Greece.
Thus, the new terminal will become an important part of the national reserve storage system. Such reserves enable the country to maintain fuel supplies in the event of import disruptions or other emergencies.