The ports authority will undertake the task of redeveloping Larnaca’s port and marina, Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades announced on Friday, saying that the government will “immediately transfer the port, the marina, and the port’s land area” to the authority.

He made the announcement in Larnaca following a meeting which had been attended by President Nikos Christodoulides, Larnaca district governor Andreas Hadjicharalambous, and Larnaca mayor Andreas Vyras, with the ports authority now having been tasked with “presenting a roadmap” for both projects by June 30.

Of those plans, Vafeades said that the marina will be expanded to a capacity of 200 boats, while 50,000 square metres of land adjacent to the port will be developed “for urban use … in line with the wishes of the town”.

Additionally, the town’s waterfront will be “unified”, ensuring direct access from the marina to the port.

Speaking to the Cyprus Mail after the announcement, he explained that the matter of transferring responsibility for both the port and the marina will require cabinet approval, before taking effect.

The port had initially been administered by the ports authority, while the marina had initially been in the hands of the Cyprus tourism organisation, which was later incorporated as the tourism deputy ministry.

Both were then transferred to the transport ministry, which entered into a public-private partnership with Kition Ocean Holdings, which operated both the port and the marina and had initially been tasked with the development of both.

When the government terminated its agreement with Kition Ocean Holdings in May 2024, the administration of the port was transferred back to the ports authority, while the transport ministry administered the marina.

When cabinet ratifies Vafeades’ plans, both the port and the marina will be administered by the ports authority, with both set to be redeveloped in what he had earlier described as “separate but parallel” projects.

Those projects had initially been one singular undertaking, but the government announced in November 2024 that they would be split into two, with Vafeades saying last month that had the projects remained unified, “one development would occur at the expense of the other”.

The contract with Kition 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.

Last year, the government enlisted the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF)to carry out a study and devise a development plan for both the port and marina.

The HRADF’s its assets and responsibilities were shortly afterwards transferred to the Hellenic Corporation of Assets and Participations (HCAP), which operates under the name “GrowthFund”, Greece’s national investment fund.

The HRADF’s expertise had been enlisted as it was the operator of a number of ports in Greece, including Alexandroupoli, Lavrio, and Volos, Kavala’s commercial Philip II port, and the Corfu megayacht marina.

Likewise, GrowthFund, a larger endeavour, has a portfolio which includes the Corinth Canal, the port authorities of Piraeus and Thessaloniki, and Athens airport, as well as Greece’s postal service, the National Bank of Greece, and the Attica Bank.

The results of GrowthFund’s studies are now expected to form the basis of the government’s forward planning for the port and the marina.