Kition agrees to €4.2 mln guarantee for Larnaca marina

Construction of the €1.2 bln Larnaca port and marina project seems to be back on track after the operator and the Cyprus government reached a compromise agreement over a financial deadlock on Monday.

President Nikos Christodoulides chaired a meeting with all stakeholders, including local authorities and the project’s concession holder, Kition Ocean Holdings (KOH), where it was agreed that the company would provide a letter of guarantee of €4.2 mln, instead of the €10 mln that the state required.

In a statement, KOH said, “this step will enable further discussions on the details concerning the specifics of this guarantee amount. Once the guarantee is submitted, the government has committed to promptly engage in discussions about the company’s variation requests as outlined in the concession agreement.”

“We are optimistic that this renewed cooperation will quickly resolve remaining issues and expedite the initiation of construction works as soon as possible,” the company added.

After the meeting, Larnaca mayor Andreas Vyras said that once the guarantee is deposited, construction work will resume as planned, probably in June.

Earlier, Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades had warned that absence of the guarantee would mean the violation of ‘essential terms’ of the concession agreement.

It could also mean that Kition would have to pay several hundred thousand euros in damages to the state that has been deprived of revenues from the operation of the port and marina.