The board of tenders has rejected both bids for the Paphos to Polis Chrysochous Road, Transport Minister Evi Tsolaki confirmed on Friday.

Tsolaki informed the House finance committee the decision was unanimous and, in her view, “expected”.

One bid was dismissed as “crucial documentation was missing”, while the other was rejected as “it far exceeded the initial estimate”

Cyfield Construction submitted the lower bid at €124.85 million, excluding VAT, while Araco Construction, in a joint venture with Geostroy, offered €128.94 million.

The ministry had estimated the cost at €90.2 million, so the bids were higher by €34.65 million and €38.74 million respectively, or about 40 per cent.

The tender covered the design and construction of the first phase of the highway, a stretch of around 15.5 kilometres from Ayia Marinouda to Stroumbi.

The road was to open with two lanes and provision for expansion to four, with the initial plans including five bridges, two tunnels, four overpasses and twelve underpasses.

When the bids were made public in April, the ministry attributed the gap with its estimate to “broader increases in construction costs and materials in recent years”.

Tsolaki assured the government still intends to build the road, remarking that as the project “dates back to the 1970s and, as the years go by, its implementation becomes more difficult, which is why we are studying other ways to bring it to fruition.”

She said she convened a meeting to discuss the path forward, including a four-lane road.

The public works department submitted its proposals on September 16, and the minister will assess them to establish cost and timetable.

The original schedule had the road finished by January 2026, a deadline that has since passed.

Disy MP Charalambos Pazaros voiced “strong indignation and deep disappointment”, saying his party had warned that ending the contract with Intrakat and re-announcing the tender “posed serious risks” and “legal entanglements”.

Remarking upon congestion caused by poor infrastructure, Akel MP Valentinos Fakondis said that “traffic has become a daily nightmare, city centres are suffocating, highways are turning into vast parking lots and journeys of a few minutes now take up to an hour”.

He decried the government for leading the project “to disaster” and called for an alternative plan with “realistic timetables”.

Diko MP Chrysanthos Savvides said the decision to build the road was taken under the Anastasiades government with Disy, and that “not even a shepherd can follow this path” without a clear timetable.

He said he would register a matter with the House audit committee, citing “misappropriation of public funds” and a need for accountability.

Tsolaki was at the committee to present her ministry’s budget for next year, which is set to rise by 11.3 per cent, or €60 million, to €611.2 million.

She also reported that by September 30 the public works department had completed major projects worth €187.5 million this year, of which €118.5 million belonged to the transport ministry alone and €69 million to other ministries.