Redevelopment of Larnaca marina and port will be in full swing from the beginning of 2024, with the €1.2 bln project taking shape.
In comments to news site StockWatch, the CEO of Kition Ocean Holdings – the Cypriot-Israeli consortium awarded redevelopment project – January 2024 will mark the launch of phase 1 works.
“From the beginning of the year, the area around the marina will be a huge construction site,” said Alexandrou.
He noted they had received the green light from the Department of Town Planning and Housing for the first buildings.
Alexandrou clarified that the central building, the completion of which is estimated to take 18 months, will house the offices of the Kition company, the local port authority, the Cyprus Ports Authorities, customs and other local services.
Works on the buildings are expected to start in April 2024.
Other buildings, which are for the police, the Ministry of Agriculture and a terminal for cruise ships, are expected to be completed within a year.
According to Alexandrou, planning is also progressing for the pier, where the Yacht Club and the service building will be built, for which construction will start next April.
During the same period, infrastructure projects will be launched, including roads and pedestrian walkways to connect the development area with the city.
He said a dispute with workers at the Larnaca port over signing a collective agreement has also been settled.
Alexandrou said work on the pier is underway, scheduled to be completed before the end of this year.
The aim is for the pier to be completed for January’s Epiphany celebrations and the foundation stone ceremony.
According to Alexandrou, the contractors will need four years to complete the work from the beginning of the project, estimated to generate around €12 bln for the government.
It will create 4,000 new jobs, calculating those directly tied to the marina operations and businesses that will open outlets in the commercial areas.
The work will be carried out in four phases over 15 years.
The BOT project will see the government receiving fixed rent and a percentage of the revenue through a concession agreement with the port/marina operated on a 40-year lease and real estate acquired on a 125-year lease.
After 40 years, the port and marina can be returned to the government.
Reconstruction of the existing marina will accommodate 650 yachts and offer facilities such as boat repairs.
An upgraded Larnaca port will accommodate ships up to 450 metres in length, such as luxury cruise ships, energy exploration vessels, military, and other merchant ships.
The real estate is expected to include luxury hotels, apartment buildings, a convention centre, shopping malls, educational spaces, research auditoriums, a medical school, a tourism college and an environment and energy university.
