Dust from port operations, abandoned buildings and persistent cleanliness problems dominated a public meeting between Larnaca mayor Andreas Vyras and residents living around the city’s port on Wednesday, with the municipality promising both short-term measures and long-term redevelopment plans.

The meeting, held at Larnaca port’s departure hall and attended by municipal councillors and officials, aimed to update residents on ongoing efforts while giving them an opportunity to raise concerns affecting their daily lives.

“We didn’t come only to speak, we came to listen,” Vyras said, acknowledging that the area faces long-standing problems that have worsened in recent years.

The issue raised most frequently was dust generated during the loading and unloading of gypsum and animal feed at the port.

Residents expressed concern about the impact on their health, with reference made during the meeting to doctors reporting higher rates of respiratory problems among people living in the area.

Vyras said the municipality has repeatedly raised the issue with the Cyprus Ports Authority and the transport ministry, describing it as one of the area’s most pressing concerns.

He said the permanent solution remains the transfer of gypsum and animal feed operations to the future industrial port at Vasiliko, a project which both the President and the relevant minister have confirmed will go ahead but will take time to complete.

Until then, he said, authorities are relying on new specialist loading equipment expected to significantly reduce dust emissions.

According to Vyras, both the companies carrying out the loading operations and the Cyprus Ports Authority have assured the municipality that machinery costing between €10 million and €12 million will reduce dust by around 90 per cent.

“They assure us that once this equipment arrives, 90 per cent of the problem will be solved,” he said, adding that the municipality would judge its effectiveness once it is in operation.

The mayor also highlighted the growing number of abandoned homes and other properties in the area, saying many have become dumping grounds and sources of nuisance.

He explained that many of the worst cleanliness problems occur on private property, limiting the municipality’s ability to intervene immediately because legal procedures must first be followed before entering abandoned buildings.

Some properties have already been cleaned, while legal action is underway in other cases to allow municipal crews to gain access, officials told residents.

Vyras also acknowledged ongoing difficulties in maintaining cleanliness across the neighbourhood, saying illegal dumping remains a persistent problem.

He said municipal cleaning crews often clear affected areas only to find them littered again within hours.

“We clean one day and by the next it’s as if we never cleaned,” he said.

According to Vyras, identifying those responsible and enforcing penalties is often difficult, making waste management one of the municipality’s biggest challenges in the port area.

Looking ahead, the mayor said the Cyprus Ports Authority has begun procedures for the unified redevelopment of Larnaca port and marina, a project valued at around €400 million.

He said consultants are expected to begin work on the plans shortly, while some improvements could start sooner, including relocating the boatyard from the marina, removing used vessels from the port and carrying out maintenance works ahead of the wider redevelopment.

Residents largely echoed the concerns raised by the municipality but expressed frustration that the area has remained neglected and disadvantaged for many years despite repeated promises of improvement.