Maintenance works are underway at the Church of Panayia Melendrina in the north, with tenders announced for further restoration efforts aimed at preserving the 14th century structure.

Co-chairman of the Technical Committee for Cultural Heritage (TCCH) Sotos Ktoris said on Tuesday that the project concerned the church in the village of Ayios Amvrosios, which lies to the east of Kyrenia, adding that maintenance follows earlier works carried out in 2014 to prevent structural collapse.

He said tenders have now been issued to safeguard the remaining parts of the monastic complex, of which only the church structure survives today.

The project is co-financed by the EU and will be implemented under the supervision of the United Nations Development Programme Cyprus (UNDP).

The Church of Panayia Melendrina, in use as a monastery until 1940, carried on as a place of worship until it was abandoned and desecrated following the Turkish invasion of 1974.