Pournara to be enlarged to house more migrants

Personnel at Pournara migrant reception centre will be increased to accelerate the asylum application processing time, Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou said on Monday.

In a statement issued after a meeting on the migration issue in Cyprus, Ioannou was also informed by various departments in the ministry about their capabilities to deal with a potential massive arrival of migrants following the crisis in the Middle East.

At the meeting, which was held by minister with various departments in the ministry dealing with the migration issue, it was decided that the capacity of Pournara will be increased by 1,000.

The ministry also said that in coordination with the ministries of justice, health, the deputy ministry of social welfare and the police, staffing of their services at Pournara will be increased, to “faster empty the centre”.

According to the announcement, the ministry also evaluated looking into using another closed structure for temporary accommodation if flows are too overwhelming for Pournara.

The ministry also decided that Cyprus will also be applying to EU for more first-line reception officers, to help deal with migrant flows arriving on the island.

Speaking earlier, foreign ministry spokesman Theodoros Gotsis said: “The meeting was to examine the needs of the ‘Estia’ [transit and repatriation] plan as well as infrastructure for hosting refugees.

“The human and infrastructure resources of Cyprus are limited and support will be requested as needed,” the spokesman noted.

On Sunday it emerged that the interior ministry has reached out to the EU for help including requesting items such as tents, after 194 Syrian migrants arrived on the island’s shores from Lebanon.

Last week, high-level sources of the Cyprus Mail said that the country is preparing for some 100,000 evacuees, due to the crisis in the Middle East.

Asked to comment on potential migration flows, the sources specified those seeking to leave the war via boat will not be doing so by the evacuation plan. Many of these refugees are concentrated in Lebanon, the sources noted.

Cyprus’ interior minister has warned developments in Israel and Gaza could impact Lebanon’s ability to monitor its shores, raising the risk for an increased influx of migrants trying to come to Cyprus.