Paphos marina held up yet again

The creation of a long-anticipated marina to serve Paphos has been held up again, following a complaint raised by one of the parties, the Paphos Chamber of Commerce, EVE, informed the Cyprus Mail on Wednesday.

“One of the interested parties submitted an objection to the ‘tenders review authority’. They have issued an interim order, which means that nothing can go on until the matter is resolved,” said Marinos Stylianou of EVE.

The deputy tourism ministry which is the responsible authority had awarded the tender for the preparation of a relevant study for Paphos marina and the provision for a cruise ship infrastructure.

Initially, the proposal to cater for cruise ships was earmarked for Kato Paphos harbour, however it was then suggested to combine the facility with a proposed marina in Kissonerga as the antiquities department said the development would have a negative impact on the archaeological environment of the area.

The award was challenged by Ernst and Young Cyprus Ltd, the Cyprus News Agency reported. As a result the tender review authority with the consent of the contracting authority has issued a decision suspending the process of awarding or executing the decision to sign the contract.

The appeal sets out a number of reasons as to why the decision should be annulled and requested that temporary measures be suspended for the award and signing of the contract pending the decision over the appeal.

“We now have to wait, as the procedure has been stopped by an interim order and is being examined. This was raised in April and usually takes two or three months, we hope it will not be that long as all involved are pushing for a swift conclusion,” Stylianou added.

The design for a marina in Potima (Kissonerga) will accommodate 1,000 boats, which is a ‘huge’ scale for the area.

The government has over many years invited and rejected tenders for the construction of the project.

The tender was first announced in 2007 and since then has faced numerous delays and objections from vying consortium and companies.

“This is a high priority project for Paphos and all of the relevant authorities.” he concluded.

.