Larnaca Municipality is preparing to announce a tender for the renovation of the Municipal Theatre Skala building.
According to the mayor of the coastal city, Andreas Viras, all the necessary documentation has already been prepared and sent to the tender committee of Larnaca municipality for approval. He expressed confidence that the mayor's office will be able to launch a tender to find a contractor in the next fortnight.
Viras said that the architect will establish the extent of the building's stability problem and propose measures to strengthen it, while he will also advise on the complete renovation of the building, including the existing equipment in it. He noted that the contractor will have a difficult job ahead of him, which could take up to a year to complete. The Larnaca mayor stressed that closing the theatre to carry out the necessary works was the only way to ensure the safety of the audience and actors. Its renovation should begin by the end of 2024.
It should be noted that in April 2024, the building of the municipal theatre ‘Scala’ was declared unsuitable for operation. In this regard, the theatre had to be closed, and all performances scheduled for the near future to be transferred to other venues. It should be noted that the Scala Theatre is located at the intersection of Kiriakou Matsi and Simou Menardou streets. It stages mainly classical plays, usually in Greek, plays for children, film screenings and stand-up performances.
It should be recalled that Cyprus has recently decided to check all buildings for earthquake resistance.
The issue of the urgent need to check the technical condition of residential and commercial buildings was raised because of the powerful earthquake that occurred in Turkey, which affected thousands of people. By the way, many buildings in Cyprus have outlived not only their creators, but also witnessed entire eras. Nevertheless, the natural aging process inevitably changes their appearance. Time and the harsh southern climate do not spare properties, especially those located in the historic centres of the island's major cities.
The situation is aggravated by the fact that most property owners are not in a hurry to invest in their restoration. As a result, hundreds of buildings in Cyprus are in a state of disrepair.
It must be said that the situation in the villages of Cyprus is much worse than in urban centres. Thus, as of today, the Mountain Communities Development Authority's register of dangerous buildings lists 826 emergency properties and 47 emergency mothballed buildings. A total of 112 mountain communities are included in the list, of which 12 are registered as monuments of architecture or endangered.