The popular Era Korivos department store in Paphos will continue to operate for at least another 9 months.
The President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades vetoed the decision of the Paphos District Court, according to which the CTC Group store had to suspend its activities on November 14.
Earlier, the Municipality of Paphos filed a complaint with the District Court of the city, in which it accused CTC Group of unauthorized possession, use and operation of the building of the former Korivos shopping center, located opposite the Stelios Kyriakides Stadium.
According to local officials, the ERA management, without the appropriate permission, arbitrarily carried out large-scale superstructures both in the building and in the parking lot.
In this regard, CTC Group issued an order stating that the company is obliged to immediately stop all redevelopment in the building. The court demanded to provide the appropriate permits. The company was given a period of 2 months for this. Since CTC Group could not provide the necessary documents, the court demanded that the department store be closed on November 14, 2021.
Employees of the department store appealed to the mayor of the city with a request to assist and prevent the closure of the store. However, he urged the company and employees to respect the court's decision.
But the President of Cyprus, who visited the city on October 29, decided to enter into the situation of the inhabitants of Paphos.
In particular, Nicos Anastasiades, taking into account all the special circumstances of the case and with the consent of the Prosecutor General and his assistant, canceled the punishment in accordance with article 53.4 of the Law of the Republic of Cyprus. CTC Group companies were allowed to carry out their activities before issuing a license for redevelopment of premises.
The President of Cyprus stressed that he was closely following the developments in this case. He also noted that the government is currently taking all possible steps to overcome the problem of compliance with the law.
Thus, the sentence was postponed from November 14 for nine months. This means that the store will remain open for now.