A new residential development consisting of three buildings of the same type in the Skala area of Larnaca is being planned by Cyfield.
It has recently been reported that the Cyprus Environment Ministry has granted the developer a licence, following the submission of an additional EIA and a specific EIA, due to the project's proximity to the Natura 2000 network and the Salt Lake.
It should be noted that the licence application for this residential development was submitted back in 2021. During the review, the authority issued a special environmental assessment report and a statement in February 2022. However, the company decided to change the design of the project.
In particular, instead of two 11-storey apartment blocks, the developer wanted to build three 8-storey blocks. According to the idea, the total height of each building will reach 35.15 metres. There will be a total of 47 apartments in the complex. The open area of the ground floor will form a single square of three buildings, on which there will be a paved area of 2 thousand m2, and a private green area of 1 577 m2. The project also includes an 80m2 swimming pool.
The Cyprus Department of the Environment noted that several alternatives have been considered in the design of the project, mainly related to the implementation of environmental management measures.
The project is expected to take 18 months from the start of construction, barring any delays due to various internal or external factors. Its cost is estimated at €3 million.
Measures to mitigate the environmental impact of the project implementation include:
- Reducing the amount of transparent surfaces on the exposed external parts of the buildings.
- Prohibiting the use of floodlights during the construction phase.
- Prohibition of the use of floodlights in all buildings during the operational phase.
- Landscaping around buildings to create a light barrier of vegetation to prevent light spillage.
- Use of warm colours in exterior lighting on all floors with reduced blue spectrum intensity to reduce light pollution.
- All exterior light sources on all floors shall be directed downward and luminaires shall be properly covered with opaque covers.
- Windows that touch or may have visual contact with Larnaca Salt Lake should use low transmittance glass so that interior lighting is not directed towards the lake.