The new town hall which will be built in Larnaca “will perfectly reflect the European capital of culture” – the title which the town is set to hold in 2030 – deputy mayor Iasonas Iasonides said on Saturday.

He told the Cyprus News Agency that the municipality intends to sell a plot of land it owns on the town’s central Hermes street to fund the construction of a new town hall on the site of the old Larnaca hospital.

Once a successful bidder for the site is found, he said, “all the practical and necessary documents” will be sent to the central government, which will then be expected to give its final approval for the sale.

“The plot will be sold and with the money we receive, we will proceed with the assignment of the renovation of the old Larnaca hospital with the aim of transforming it into a new town hall,” he said, before saying that the plan has been in the pipeline for “decades” and saying it is “of vital importance for our town”.

“The Larnaca municipal council will then decide on the bidder who will ultimately undertake the implementation of this specific project, which is estimated to cost around €8.7 million plus value added tax,” he said.

He added that once the new town hall has been finished, all the municipal services offered at the current town hall on Athens avenue, opposite Finikoudes beach, will be transferred to it.

“With the renovation, a space of historical value will finally be properly utilised, as the buildings which make it up are of architectural and cultural interest, while it is a central point of reference, inextricably linked to the lives and the experiences of the residents of Larnaca,” he said.

He added that the municipality’s aim is “to create a functional and efficient town hall”, which he said will become an “ornament for Larnaca” and “meet the requirements and image of the town, and be worthy of the European capital of culture”.

The contractor for the project is set to be announced in August, with construction expected to take 15 months after that, with the building therefore set to be complete by the beginning of 2028.

Iasonides also pointed out that given the fact that the old hospital is a listed building, the municipality will be entitled to receive a grant from the state.

“We owe it to the residents of Larnaca who dreamed of it, envisioned it, and need it, but we owe it above all to our town itself,” he said.

Regarding the current town hall, he explained that it is privately owned, and that it will be rented out to a new tenant once the new town hall is open.