Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades on Monday expressed confusion at Larnaca mayor Andreas Vyras’ plans to stage a protest over perceived delays in progress towards redevelopment of the town’s port and marina.

“I had already agreed with Mr Vyras [that] the matter would follow a specific implementation path and that at the end of the month, they would present the results of the study concerning land development,” he said.

However, he said, “Mr Vyras decided on a different course”, though he said that the government will nonetheless “continue to work in this direction, upon which we had agreed”.

“I believe that what we had said continues to apply,” he said, before adding that the government will “continue to produce results so that we can proceed with the implementation of the project”.

“Although Mr Vyras seems to disagree, I insist that we should not wait for all the studies to be finished to start the projects, which are not in dispute,” he said.

To this end, he said that “no one doubts that the marina project can proceed today”.

“Why wait all this time and wait another two or three months for the marina? Why not start immediately?” he asked.

He then added that the ports authority has already been given the green light to begin consultations to implement the marina’s development.

“Our job is to move it forward and this is the government’s intention – to move it forward. If there has been a delay in this study, that burden is mine to bear, and I understand that. I apologise to Larnaca, but that does not mean that we have the right to delay this work any longer,” he said.

He added that in pushing on immediately with work to redevelop the marina, the government will “show the people of Larnaca that we are moving forward” and “not create delays like this which may set us back two or three months for this project”.

“I am not saying that land developments or studies for land development should not be completed, but regarding the marina, why should we wait?”

Vyras’ discontent is sourced from what he perceives as a lack of clarity regarding development plans related to the marina, while he also lamented what he described as gaps in a study on the matter submitted by Greece’s national investment fund, GrowthFund.

He has said that GrowthFund’s study does not adequately address the matter of land development.

In addition, he has decried perceived delays in progress on the project and what he has called a lack of coordination between state institutions.

The government had in January last year placed the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRDAF) in the driving seat of the port and marina development project, with the company now set to play a key role in deciding the next steps for both sites.

HRADF currently operates a number of ports in Greece, including Alexandroupoli, Lavrio and Volos, Kavala’s commercial Philip II port, and the Corfu megayacht marina.

The government announced a little over a year ago that the development of Larnaca’s port and marina would be split into two projects, while Vafeades also brought forward the expected date of completion to September 2026, compared to the previously estimated date of March 2027.

The move comes after the government in May 2024 terminated its agreementwith Kition Ocean Holdings, the company it had initially entrusted with a combined project which was set to cost €1.2 billion.

The contract was terminated after the government accused Kition of refusing to pay a requisite financial guarantee for the project’s operation and maintenance.

The government had insisted Kition pay a total of €8m, while Kition believed the figure had been agreed at €4.2m.