A government contract with Intrakat for the study and construction of the first phase of the Paphos-Polis highway has been terminated, the public works department announced on Monday.

A notice issued to Intrakat requires the contractor to vacate the construction site within 14 days of receiving the letter.

The department attributed the termination to “significant and unjustified delays on the part of the contractor”.

Despite repeated reminders and warnings during regular meetings and through official letters, Intrakat reportedly failed to address the delays, the department said. It added that even tasks initiated in the past eight months had not progressed as expected, despite conditions that allowed for uninterrupted work.

During the contract period, Intrakat submitted numerous time and cost-related claims, which were reviewed and subsequently rejected through standard procedures.

Following the contractor’s notification of a dispute, the Central Committee on Changes and Claims (CCCC) said had the contractor implemented mitigation measures as stipulated in the contract and maintained an appropriate pace, the project could have proceeded smoothly without impacting critical timelines.

The public works department will initiate a new tender process to ensure the project’s swift continuation and completion.

Locals have complained for years over the stalled project but local mayor Yiotis Papachristofi last month said the project was 30 per cent complete.

“The region’s inhabitants are at boiling point over the delays,” in the progress of this crucially important infrastructure the mayor told the CyBC.

Papachristofi was informed on Monday about the termination of the contract for the Paphos-Polis highway project by Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades.

According to the mayor, Vafeades also informed him that he would visit the Polis Chrysochous municipality on Tuesday.

In a statement to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), Papachristofi expressed his view that the contract termination should have happened several months ago.

He explained that it had become clear that, although the project was supposed to be completed this year, “unfortunately, Intrakat had only completed 30 per cent of the work”.

Papachristofi then added that the contract should have been terminated long ago.

He also that, based on his telephone conversation with Vafeades, there will be plans to inform the local authorities about the process for re-tendering the project to complete both phase A and phase B of the work.

On Tuesday, Vafeades will update the municipality on the recent developments and the government’s next steps toward moving the project forward. It is expected that the municipality will request the immediate launch of a new tender process to select a new contractor who will continue the work from its current point of progress.

The entire process is expected to proceed quickly, as assured on Monday by the public works department, with the goal of completing the project for the Paphos district within five years.