Kissonerga on Wednesday asked that the mobile desalination plant which is planned to be placed near the village’s Potima beach be moved further from the coast than is presently planned.

Speaking to the Cyprus Mail, Kissonerga deputy mayor Nikolas Theodosiou said a letter has been sent to both the water development department and the Akamas municipality, citing aesthetics and planned future developments, but denied that he has asked for the plant to be placed in an entirely different location.

“We sent a letter about our concerns, but we have not asked that they move it somewhere else. We just would like it to be taken a little bit further from the coast, maybe 100 or 150 metres,” he said.

“We want to make sure that there is no noise pollution and that it is correctly covered so that it does not negatively affect the area’s beauty. We also want to make sure that this will be a temporary measure, and that it does not evolve over time to become something permanent.”

Related Articles

This, he said, is because the Potima beach area is where the planned Paphos marina will be built.

“We do not want to have something which is going to stand in the way of potential future development which will benefit the area,” he said.

It is currently hoped that the contract for the construction of the marina will be awarded next year, with Paphos chamber of commerce and industry (Evep) chairman George Mais having set that horizon in statements made last month.

Meanwhile, Cyprus association of large investment projects chairman Andreas Demetriades told the Cyprus News Agency that the official tender will be put out this summer, with the successful bidder set to be awarded at the end of 2026.

Then, he said, work on the marina will be finished in 2029.

“This is a major project that will increase foreign companies’ interest in operating in the Paphos district,” he said, adding that some companies may be “planning either the construction of projects or the transfer of their regional or even central offices to Paphos”.