The antiquities department on Friday entered the debate over the pending approval of a high-rise building slated to be built near Famagusta Gate in Nicosia.

“The Venetian walls of Nicosia are the capital’s key landmark and Famagusta Gate its most significant highlight, one does not need to be an archaeologist to comprehend that it needs to be protected,” director of the antiquities department Georgos Georgiou told CyBC radio.

The proposed building is to be a hotel with 300 rooms, the interior ministry confirmed to the Cyprus Mail, which is why its permitting process rests with the newly established Nicosia district administration (EOA), rather than the town planning department.

The application had originally been made to the Nicosia municipality, as per the previous administrative configuration, with the antiquities department lodging an objection.

The process had been halted and restarted recently with a newly submitted application to the EOA.

The interior ministry was unable to confirm the status of the new application and precisely what had been requested to be built, however, it confirmed that reviews from the requisite authorities, including the fire service, public works and the environment department were pending.

The developer’s original proposal had been for a 36-storey skyscraper of 150m to be built on a 3,408m² plot, according to local reports.

The number of storeys was subsequently reduced to 27 and then 26 as the antiquities department decried the original proposal as “an unprecedented and unacceptable absurdity,” although enthusiasts argued it would provide a panoramic view of the city.

The developer’s alternative proposal had been for four eight-storey luxury residential apartments, according to reports, which would have upheld the eight-storey maximum zoning regulation and been more profitable, but which would have taken up a greater footprint, leaving less land for greening.

Ongoing negotiations between various stakeholders over the proposed building go back several years, Georgiou said.

The antiquities director said international conventions for the protection of heritage specify that the monument itself, Famagusta Gate, as well as its surrounding area must be preserved.

The planning department has the right under certain conditions to exercise its discretion and grant an additional two floors, the director said, and the plot under debate is not within a designated zone of “special character” as with a building proposed for Kinyras Avenue which had been axed following similar outcry in 2021.

“The antiquities department recognises the dilemma of the need for development versus protection of heritage,” Georgiou said, but the least that can be done in this instance is to respect the law which safeguards a cap at eight storeys.

On Thursday the archaeologists’ association (CAA) had voiced its opposition to more storeys being granted to the developer.

“The unchecked loss of [heritage] due to chaotic urban development and investor pressure endangers not just the city’s identity but also the connection of its residents with their history and heritage,” the CAA said.

“Such urban projects do not align with the principles of sustainable development and balanced growth and affect residents’ quality of life,” the association added.