The relevant authorities have started considering bids from interested parties for the construction of a new marina in Paphos.
This was announced on Tuesday 4th February by the head of the Association of Major Developers, Andreas Dimitriadis.
He revealed that the whole process has been overseen by the Cypriot government from the beginning. The winner of the tender is expected to be announced shortly. The construction of a marina in Paphos will give a boost to the development of the whole region and make the city a new attraction for lovers of nautical tourism.
Let us remind you that the story of the construction of the Paphos marina has been going on for many years.
The first tender for the project was announced by the local authorities in 2007. In 2008, the Cybarco-Pandora consortium, which included one of the island's largest developers, the Leptos Group, won the tender. However, the other two bidders - Pafilia and Poseidon - challenged the decision of the tender commission. A legal battle ensued and the project was frozen.
In December 2015, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Cyprus decided to award victory to the Poseidon consortium, which includes another major Cypriot property developer, Aristo Developers. It was ready to build the Paphos marina for €215 million. But the Cypriot banks refused to give the company a construction loan for the missing €104 million, so the right to carry out the project was given to the third bidder, Pafilia.
Soon after, the third developer also went bankrupt. The government of the Republic of Cyprus was then forced to issue a new tender. But there were not so many people willing to invest in the project. The winner of the next tender was selected in early 2021. But the process was soon frozen again.
It turned out that one of the bidders for the construction of the marina, who had dropped out of the race, filed a complaint demanding a new tender. An injunction was issued to stop work until the dispute was resolved. The matter was resolved a few months later. The Cyprus Tender Review Authority (AAP) rejected an earlier appeal by Ernst & Young Cyprus Ltd. The contract was awarded to a consortium of Deloitte Ltd and Triton Consulting Engineers SA, which was commissioned to carry out the study.Incidentally, construction was expected to start at the end of 2021, but the project never started.
According to the project approved in 2024, the new 155,000m2 Paphos Marina will be located in Potima Bay (between Peyia and Kissonerga).
The new marina will have berths for 1,000 yachts. The total commercial and residential area of the marina will be 42,000m2 and the construction period will be three years.
However, the proposal for the cruise ship service was originally intended for the port of Kato Paphos, but it was then proposed to combine the facility with the proposed marina at Kissonerga, as the Department of Antiquities stated that the construction would not have a negative impact on the archaeological environment in the area.