Larnaca port and marina developer renewing financial guarantee

Kition Ocean Holdings, the consortium responsible for the development of Larnaca’s port and marina, has agreed to renew their financial guarantee after a meeting chaired by President Nikos Christodoulides on Monday at the Presidential Palace. The amount of the financial guarantee under the contract amounts to €10 million.

However, the amount placed by the consortium at the moment stands at €4.2 million.

“Following a productive dialogue, an agreement was reached for Kition Ocean Holdings to place the guarantee of €4.2 million,” a statement released by the consortium said.

“This step will enable further discussions on the details concerning the specifics of this guarantee amount. Once the guarantee is submitted, the government has committed to promptly engage in discussions about the company’s varied requests as outlined in the concession agreement,” the statement said.

The meeting was attended by several relevant officials in Cyprus, namely Larnaca mayor Andreas Vyras, undersecretary to the President Irene Piki, Chamber of Commerce (Keve) president Stavros Stavrou and Deputy Attorney General Savvas Angelides.

Transport ministry officials also attended, along with representatives of Kition Ocean Holdings and the real estate company Aroundtown.

During the meeting, Kition Ocean Holdings committed to deposit the amount of the financial guarantee in the coming days, allowing the project to continue according to the provisions of the contract.

Following the meeting, Vyras called the President’s intervention “very positive”.

“We expect the implementation of the terms of the contract as discussed,” he said.

Vyras also added that if the contract is to be implemented at all, the guarantee will have to be renewed.

“Once the guarantee is renewed, the rest will proceed according to the terms of the agreement.”

He reiterated that the agreement states the works will begin in June.

He added that the conditions are in place already, as the license will be issued on April 26, explaining that tenders have been submitted and both the company and the transport ministry – which oversees the contract – are awaiting the implementation of the agreement.

Asked about the amount of the guarantee to be deposited, he said that he cannot comment on the lump sum, adding that the agreement provides for a dispute resolution process.

“The most important thing is for there to be a financial guarantee, as without it, there is no agreement,” Vyras explained, noting, however, that the amount of the guarantee was not the subject of the meeting, but the issue was that for there to be an agreement, there must be a financial guarantee.

During the meeting Christodoulides underscored Vyras’ statements, telling the port and marina managing company that for the contract to be considered valid, the financial guarantee must first be deposited.

The company committed to depositing the financial guarantee. The President did not reportedly enter into discussions regarding other demands made by the company, with this to occur after the deposit is made.