Since the beginning of April, Larnaca Municipality, in collaboration with the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT), has been stepping up efforts to implement key stages of the project to establish a School of Marine Sciences, Technology and Sustainable Development, which is scheduled to open in September 2027.
According to the press release, the school will be located on a new campus to be built near Mackenzie Beach. Despite the tight deadline of just over two and a half years, the project is actively progressing and key decisions have already been taken.
According to the Larnaca municipality, all the necessary building permits are expected to be obtained by July 2025, with a tender to be announced by October. Construction of the new modern building will begin in early 2026 and is expected to take 18 months to complete by summer 2027. At the same time, Larnaca Mayor Andreas Viras stressed that in the event of any delays, alternative temporary locations will be offered to start the educational process.
It is expected that the Larnaca municipality and the university will sign a long-term lease agreement in the near future, under which the building will be transferred to CUT for just one thousand euros per year. The agreement will include a clause on participation in the CMMI Centre of Excellence project, which will ensure a high level of academic and research support for the new institution. CUT Rector Panayiotis Zafiris noted that the next step will be to obtain the relevant operating licence from the Ministry of Education.
Given the time constraints, this process must be completed by the end of the summer. The next steps will be to develop curricula and submit them to the Higher Education Quality Assurance Agency for approval, as well as to resolve issues related to funding, staffing and organisational procedures, Zafiris said.
According to the technical and economic feasibility study prepared by Grant Thornton, the recruitment of 20 internationally qualified teachers and 13 administrative staff will begin in 2026.
However, this will only be possible once the school has been officially established at the legislative level. The school will initially comprise two faculties: Marine Biology and Technology and Sustainable Development. In the future, master's and postgraduate programmes are planned, with a total of up to 450 students in the long term.
According to preliminary projections, the project will be financially viable: total revenues for the period 2025-2034 will amount to €55.2 million, with costs of €54.2 million. The expected fiscal impact is between €3.5 and €4 million per year. Approximately €25 million will be required in the first three years for the launch, including €16 million for construction.
The future 4,500 m2 campus will include modern lecture halls, laboratories, administrative offices and recreational areas. Special attention will be paid to the environmental sustainability of the construction - the buildings will comply with the principles of sustainable development, including high energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources.
The opening of the School of Marine Sciences in Larnaca will be an important step not only for the academic community in Cyprus, but also for the strategic development of the region as a whole, strengthening its position in the field of sustainable technologies and marine research.