By the Ports Authority’s own admission, the Louis Group has contributed about CYP 7 mln in fees and charges for using Limassol port in the past seven years, while its dock has had 1,400 cruise ship arrivals and handled 600,000 passengers for this company alone.
In return, Louis gets nothing.
One would expect that for a million pounds a year, the Ports Authority could surely have come up with enough cash to build a new passenger terminal, as opposed to the tin-roof shack that accommodates the thousands of cruise and ferry passengers a year.
At this rate, this island will never become a regional cruising hub that some have only dreamed of, especially even with the regional conflicts nearly begging the Cyprus authorities to upgrade their facilities in order handle more traffic.
The same can be said for the cargo facilities that are fast being outdated and outgrown by rapidly developing regional ports such as Damietta (Egypt), Aqaba (Jordan) and Jebel Ali (Dubai), which operate 24/7 attracting short and long transit business and charge below-Cyprus rates.
But what can one expect from a semi government organization that works with a civil servant mentality in a cut-throat sector dominated by private enterprises? Worse still, as has been repeatedly said, why is the Ports Authority’s head office still based in Nicosia when even the Department of Merchant Shipping has its offices in Limassol, thus sharing some of the government offices with the coastal town? The capital is, after all, a land-locked town with no aspiration or plans ever to become a sea port.
The recent evacuation from Lebanon put a strain on the island’s port systems, which must be commended for the ability to respond and cope well under the pressure. However, the options to transform Larnaca port to a primarily passenger terminal and upgrade Limassol to become a competitive regional passenger and cargo port, should be an urgent task the Port Authority should deal with.
Though Beirut port will take some time to recover as the whole country undergoes a major reconstruction drive, Lebanon could soon make great leaps in the transport sector in an effort to attract business and boost state revenue. Will Cyprus once again sit idle and watch yet another opportunity pass by?
With government officials insisting recently that certain public services, such as the CTO, will maintain their present status, but will undergo some/major reforms, perhaps it is time to do the same with the ports that suffer mainly from labour issues and give the Ports Authority a general facelift under a new public company status with the state as the single shareholder.
Only then will the ports be more flexible and perhaps even become competitive some day.
