Delays have pushed the completion of a Nicosia highway ring road further down the line, with a new request for placing the deadline to August 5.

The transport and works ministry said on Monday that the initial extension was for June 16, 2024, three-and-a-half months later than the agreed March 1 deadline.

However, the contractor then requested a new deadline be set for June 25, due to the heatwave.

The contractor is now citing weather conditions and unforeseen extra work since January 1 as reasons for applying for the August 5 deadline.

The requests were examined by the ministry, however, and a new deadline has been set for July 15, after which €5,500 will be deducted from the payment for every day as a penalty until the completion of the project.

The contractor expects the circular road to be delivered in mid-August, except for a small section on Tseri avenue, which will be delivered at a later date and which will not affect highway traffic.

The first phase of the long-awaited project was expected to be completed by the end of March 2023. It includes a 7.5-kilometre motorway connecting the Nicosia to Limassol motorway in the Dali area with Tseri Avenue as well as 10 kilometres of extra roads, three flyovers, and a main roundabout.

The total estimated budget of the project, to be completed in five phases, is €350 million.

Upon completion, it will operate as a ring road and will connect three main roads, the Nicosia to Limassol motorway, the road from Nicosia to Kokkinotrimithia, and the road from Nicosia to Palaichori.