— Six more ready for review
A ministerial committee has decided to award a license for the operation of a new golf course in the Ayia Napa area to a consortium of local hoteliers.
This will be the first course in the south eastern coastal area.
Three courses already operate in the Paphos District (Aphrodite Hills, Secret Valley and Tsada) and three more courses lie within the British Bases and the old Nicosia airport controlled by the UN.
A driving range has also been planned for Nicosia, probably in the Athalassa national park area.
Agriculture Minister Photos Photiou, Trade and Tourism Minister Antonis Michaelides and the new president of the Cyprus Tourism Organisation, Panos Englezos, decided to allocate a parcel from the government forest area to the new project.
Photiou said after the meeting that new golf courses “will help enhance our tourism product.”
“We believe that this is the best way to attract quality tourism,” he said, adding that meeting was called to discuss certain problems that arose with the application for a permit. These were related to the duration of the contract and the rent the government will charge.
“We found way to resolve these problems and will give further recommendations to the company. It is now up to them to proceed as we are prepared to give them the go-ahead.”
Photiou said that a preliminary approval has been granted to six more golf projects on the island which will allow the developers to proceed with finalising their plans.
As regards the water shortage, a serious problem on the island that relies on dams and desalination plants for irrigation and public use, the minister said that “this is an important criterion in our discussions (with golf course developers) and we are studying this issue together with the ministry of Tourism and the CTO.”
He added that as a matter of government policy, all golf courses will have to rely for their irrigation on desalination plants and water treatment plants.
Panos Englezos said that “it is important to satisfy the demanding tourists who are constantly searching for new products.
“The issue of creating new golf courses and new marinas is part of the government policy to develop the tourist industry which will boost our earnings from this sector,” he said.
