A seaside walking path in Kissonerga in Paphos cost the state more than ten times its original budget and took almost two decades to complete, an audit office report revealed.

The path, which was originally conceptualised in 2004, was only opened in 2020 after being delayed from 2004 to 2019 when work began. The original budget stood at €854,000 but by 2019, the new budget to complete the path had risen to €10.7 million.

Among other things, the audit office found fundamental changes in the project, omissions and serious malpractices caused using substandard materials and in a smaller quantity than initially foreseen.

The report also indicated that the community council proceeded with the acceptance of the project despite the obvious problems from the plans identified in advance and the refusal of the contractor to provide scientific reports on the strength and quality of the concrete.

In 2004, the Kissonerga community council signed the agreement with private consultants-designers for the study of the construction and landscaping of the coastal walkway.

The deliverables from the consulting engineers never went beyond the preliminary design stage and the project was never implemented.

According to the report, it appeared the designers instead spent time discussing with the district urban planning department to change the plan to the point where it would exceed the budget.

Also, a breach of contract was recorded on the part of the community council in terms of paying the engineers.

The contract also changed scope, the report said, and the necessary approvals from the state were not received, nor was the tender cancelled and relaunched to account for the new budget.

After several bureaucratic issues, the project was finally completed and moved forward in 2019. However the council has since complained about serious problems in the materials used, and the way the construction was done.

The Paphos district administration is also blamed in the report for releasing the funds so that payment could be made to the contractors of the project.