The Larnaca Tourism Development and Promotion Company has appealed to the President of Cyprus for personal intervention. The goal is to accelerate the start of the third phase of construction of the Larnaca–Dhekelia coastal road. This project is of critical importance for the tourist region, but its completion has already been delayed by more than a year. The head of the organization, Dinos Lefkaritis, sent a letter to Nikos Christodoulides, emphasizing that the issue remains unresolved despite previous promises and meetings. This is not just a road, but a key artery connecting hotels, beaches, and the resort area’s infrastructure.
How long the construction has been delayed and what was promised
The third phase of the road reconstruction covers the Oroklini tourist area. Work began in September 2022. The original contract provides for completion within 30 months, meaning March 2025. However, the contractor failed to meet the deadline. The contract was extended by more than a year, setting a new completion date for the end of April 2026. Yet even now, just weeks before this deadline, the construction site does not match the revised schedule. This raises serious concerns that the project will once again not be delivered on time. Local residents and business owners observe unfinished sections, closed lanes, and equipment operating intermittently.
Consequences of the delays: visitors are losing interest
In his letter to the president, Lefkaritis emphasized that repeated appeals to the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works, as well as meetings with the contractor, have produced no results. The project remains incomplete in several sections. The current delays cannot be considered reasonable or justified, especially given the already granted extension. The consequences for the Larnaca tourist region are already serious and measurable. Hotels are reporting an increase in booking cancellations. Tour operators are reluctant to sign contracts because the sight of long-term construction damages the resort’s image. Tourists do not want to vacation in an area with torn-up roads, noise, dust, and restricted access.
What the Larnaca tourism industry is demanding
The state has already granted the contractor significant additional time to complete the works, but without corresponding results. Therefore, the situation cannot tolerate further delays or empty promises. Industry representatives are demanding immediate personal intervention from the president to speed up the project’s completion. Unfortunately, the Dhekelia road is not an isolated case. It highlights a chronic and deeply rooted problem of delays, poor planning, and insufficient coordination among responsible authorities.
This directly harms the economy. The government must find ways to address serious delays in the implementation of infrastructure projects. The local community and the tourism sector of Larnaca and Cyprus as a whole cannot continue to bear the burden of these failures. The 2026 tourist season has already begun, and if the road is not opened in the coming weeks, the damage to Larnaca could be catastrophic.