Delays in processing the appeal against ongoing works at Pentakomo port may lead to irreversible damages to the environment, Birdlife Cyprus warned on Tuesday.

“When a case is dealt with in a procedure that recognises its urgency, the delay in making a decision undermines the very purpose of the legal process,” its director Melpo Apostolidou said.

The NGO said that although the case had been classified as ‘urgent’ due to potential damage it poses to the environment, a relevant decision by the court is yet to be issued.

“From the day of the hearing until today, work on the port has continued, further burdening the area and intensifying the risk of irreversible impacts,” the group warned.

In its appeal, the organisation, together with Friends of the Earth, questioned the legality of environmental and planning permits issued for the works, alleging that the motivation behind the construction was to serve the fish farming sector.

“What remains to be protected if the decision is issued too late and after the project is largely completed?” Apostolidou asked.

A first hearing of the case was held in September, prompting the court to order all involved parties to expedite the case as the ongoing construction works were already visible in the region.

“Six months later, the lack of a decision raises serious questions regarding the timely and effective administration of justice in a case of an urgent nature,” Birdlife said.

The group underlined the importance of protecting the region, stressing that it was home to the critically endangered monk seal and could pose an immediate threat to the animal.

Construction at the site has been ongoing

“The Pentakomou case is a crucial legal process for the protection of one of the most important remaining natural areas of Cyprus,” Birdlife said.

Appealing to the court, the group reiterated the significance of the case, emphasising that environmental cases must be heard within timeframes that reflect their urgent nature.

“This case was expected to be a landmark for environmental protection in Cyprus. Instead, it is becoming a test of whether legal procedures for environmental justice can respond in time to prevent irreversible environmental damage,” Birdlife concluded.

The Pentakomo project had been subject to criticism by environmental groups for a long time, with authorities repeatedly dismissing the criticism.

Birdlife launched the court case in early 2025 with the aim of halting the project.

By this point, works at Pentakomo had already begun, with crucial coastal rock formations being removed from the area, threatening the habitat of the monk seal.

The organisation has since filed two appeals challenging both the environmental permit and urban planning approval.

In April 2025, an interim order by Cyprus’ administrative court halted the project on environmental grounds, marking the first time this ever happened in the Republic.

Later on, the environment, fisheries and public works departments in a joint statement rebutted reports that a planned fish farming port in Pentakomo had become unmanageable and would imperil marine habitats or endangered species after media reports said the facility had grown into a “a mammoth port”.

The department called the report flawed, bemoaning the “spread of misinformation” on the subject.

In September 2025, the organisation warned that the project had been “evaluated with incorrect data, which is misleading about its real needs and impacts.”