On Monday, June 30, the new political party of Alma, founded by the former general auditor Odyssesas Michaelidis, accused the government of political favoritism and violation of environmental norms when approving the Aqua Residences project in Larnac. The application was published on the official website of the party and on the social network X.
The project worth 40 million euros provides for the construction of two 15-storey towers on the coast of former oil refineries. According to Alma, one of the deigne companies is led by the “famous member of the DISI party”, which, in their opinion, indicates a political patronage.
The Department of Environmental Protection issued conditional approval on June 26, despite the fact that 40% of the site suffered from erosion and require artificial recovery due to reclamation. Alma said that the towers will actually be erected right by the sea line, in the territory where the construction was prohibited earlier.
The party also referred to the opinion of engineer Ksenia Loizida, who warned that such projects could aggravate erosion problems and create a dangerous precedent. Almarm called out the compliance of the project Article 8 of the Protocol on the coastal zones of the Barcelona Convention prohibiting construction closer than 100 meters from the sea line.
In response, the Department of Environmental Protection said that a positive conclusion was issued exclusively on the basis of current legislation and environmental assessments, regardless of the personality of the developer. The department emphasized that the site had previously had an industrial purpose and was not available to citizens, and the project provides for the creation of green areas and public access to the coast.
Later, the Volt party also criticized, calling the authorities the decision of the “dangerous precedent” and urging the resolution, preserve the site as a public zone and increase the transparency of coastal urban planning.
The situation develops against the background of a growing concern about large -scale real estate investments in Cyprus by foreign persons and companies, especially in Limassol and Larnaca. The leader of the party Akel Stefanos Stefan last week noted that there is a “targeted buying” of real estate, including closed communities with enhanced security.
Source: Cyprus-Mail.com
