Disy calls for House discussion on stalled Larnaca port works

Opposition Disy on Wednesday called for the House of Representatives to immediately discuss the impasse that has been reached in revamp works surrounding the Larnaca marina and port.

“The recent developments that have come to light are of particular concern to us. We would like to hope that the government understands the importance of the project and we believe that it must find those ways to continue the work,” the party said in a statement.

The issue broke last week, when concerns were raised about the stalled construction, which were due to start last month or early this month.

Following these developments and a back and forth between the government and the company Kition Ocean Holdings on contractual matters, President Nikos Christodoulides had to step in to request to meet with the company.

“I have spoken to the minister of transport, I have asked to arrange a meeting with the company, I am ready to discuss, to come up with solutions, always within the agreed framework,” he said on Tuesday.

Earlier on Tuesday, Kition Ocean Holdings, which is overseeing the Larnaca port and marina revamp, said they filed a case against the government for causing delays and breaching the contract.

According to CEO Oliver Corlette, the government has been unwilling to meet the company to discuss a difference in a financial guarantee.

The guarantee is one of three worth €10 million, which the company said needed to be recalculated, something the government refused, leading to the delay in the works.

“We met with them [the government] several times to try and open this discussion, but they refused to discuss the calculation even though it could have been resolved very quickly but to no avail. Last week, we applied to the Cyprus courts seeking an order to get the government to follow the agreement. We respect the court’s proceedings so we will not comment further on this matter,” Corlette said.

He added that Kition Ocean Holdings has also been “threatened” by the government, which, he said, attempted to “bully” the company by saying it would terminate the contract.

Later in the day, Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades refuted the claims.

Vafeades reiterated that the company is violating an essential term of the contract due to the non-renewal of a €10 million guarantee.

“The obligation to have a guaranteed letter in place is a term of the contract, it is not something negotiable. The government has no choice but to accept that this letter of guarantee does not exist.”