A new tender is to be opened for the operation and maintenance of the Larnaca marina, Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades said on Thursday.
Speaking after the day’s cabinet meeting, he said the winner of the tender would gain the right to operate and maintain the marina for a period of five years, or until the process of finding a new investor to upgrade the marina’s infrastructure is completed.
Cabinet’s decision also authorised the transport ministry to continue operating the marina and carrying out necessary maintenance works until either December 31, 2025, or the date on which a private operator is found, whichever is earlier.
The same rights were afforded to the ports authority to continue to operate Larnaca’s port, subject to the holding of a separate tender for its operation and maintenance.
Explaining the decision to the Cyprus Mail, Vafeades said there are now two “transition periods” – one during which the government will seek private companies to operate both the port and the marina for a period of up to five years, and the second, during which the government will seek a long-term investor to upgrade the infrastructure of both sites.
“During the first period, we will look for companies to manage and operate the port while we are studying the ideal use and extent of both the port and marina. Then, once that has been decided, we will then seek private investors to carry that out,” he began.
“This process could take up to five years, so we decided to find private companies to operate both sites until that process has been completed,” he said.
Earlier, he had confirmed that cabinet has also decided that the staff employed by the Larnaca and Famagusta district development agency (Anetel), who currently operate the marina, will be transferred to the tender winner when whichever company it is takes over the marina’s operation.
To this end, Vafeades once again said the port and marina would now be treated as two separate projects, subject to two separate tenders. This is a change of course from the previous tender for the two sites, wherein Kition Ocean Holdings won a tender to operate both.
However, Vafeades said he currently “has no information” as to whether there are any private companies interested in the project, but said he would not rule out the possibility of the same company winning both tenders.
The government had announced in August that the development of Larnaca’s port and marina would be split into two projects, while Vafeades also brought forward the expected date of completion to September 2026, compared to the previously estimated date of March 2027.
he move comes after the government had in May terminated its agreement with Kition Ocean Holdings, the company it had initially entrusted with a combined project which was set to cost €1.2 billion.
The contract had been terminated after the government had accused Kition of refusing to pay a requisite financial guarantee for the project’s operation and maintenance.
The government had insisted Kition pay a total of €8m, while Kition believed the figure had been agreed at €4.2m.
