It took more than 20 years and a lot of delays, but work has finally started on the project to create a technology park in Pentakomo.
Elena Damianu, a representative of the Ministry of Trade, said at a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Trade on Tuesday, 6 May, that the tender for the search for a strategic investor is planned to be announced in late May or early June 2025.
She says that a study was done for the ministry by a big international consulting company. The study has already been given to the authorities. The study looked at whether the project would be financially viable and what would be needed to make it happen. It also made suggestions on how to get investors on board.
Damianu said that the package of incentives for investors had been revised to make it more attractive. The Council of Ministers has already approved the strategy. Right now, all the documents that need to be approved have been sent to the Main Control and Accounting Office to be checked. We should know the result within a week. Then the documents will be sent to the State Aid Commissioner to look at.
As soon as we get the go-ahead, we'll announce the tender straight away, Damianu said, confident that a lot of investors will be interested because of all the work that's already been done to get ready for this.
The tender is planned to be organised in two stages:
- First, potential investors will suggest how the project should be structured, including how much it will cost and who will be on the team.
- The second stage, which will begin in early 2026, will involve the submission of detailed investment proposals. By April 2026, all the ideas will have been collected, and in June, they will all be looked at to see which is the best.
The winner of the tender will have five years from the start of 2027 to complete the first phase of the project, which includes the main construction facilities. The authorities have also promised to speed up the licensing process. The Investment Promotion Agency and the Land Department will handle this.
The project will cover an area of about 200,000 square metres. At first, 400,000 square metres were planned, but because of delays, about half of the site was given back to its owners.
It is worth noting that this initiative was supported by representatives of the Ministry of Finance, the Sub-Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, as well as several universities.
However, Yorgos Economou, the head of the Pentakomo community, is not sure that the authorities really mean to do this. He says it is strange that the project has taken 20 years to plan. He confirmed that the community had received €600,000 for the construction of a road to the future technology park and stressed the importance of creating attractive conditions for investors. He said that the 35-year concession period suggested in the last tender was not attractive.
The DISY MP Averof Neophytou, who is in charge of the committee, said that the project should be paid for by the state and not just by private investors. He is not sure about the upcoming tender, as he thinks it is unclear what will happen and there are no real reasons for investors to take part.
But because things didn't work out well in the past, the government has decided to bring in consultants early this time. These consultants will help to create more flexible and appealing conditions for the tender. This will make the tender more attractive to the companies that are serious about the market.
Stavros Papadouris, the president of the Ecological Movement, said it was very important to follow environmental rules when carrying out the project. He said that the technology park should be built in a way that benefits local people and the environment.
Finally, MP Nikos Sikas (DISY) added that under the new concept, investors will receive significant preferences, including access to state-owned land. He says that the idea is to make the project really appealing and worth the money.