Akamas mayor says Paphos marina an ‘urgent need’

Akamas mayor Marinos Lambrou on Thursday said the construction of the Paphos marina is an “urgent need”.

Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), he said the project “will bring change to the new Akamas municipality as well as the entire Paphos district”.

He added that the current plans foresee the construction of a marina with a capacity of 1,000 boats on a 155,000 square metre plot of land.

From that plot, he said, 40,000 square metres will be reserved for residential, touristic, and cultural development, while a further 2,500 square metres will be allocated for other services such as clinics and reception areas.

“This will contribute to the development of maritime tourism with all the benefits it will have for the wider region,” he said.

Paphos chamber of commerce chairman George Mais had said earlier in the year that a total of three companies had submitted offers regarding the tender for consulting services for the marina project.

He said at the time that the consultants will aid the designated contracting authority, the deputy tourism ministry to prepare tender forms for the marina’s construction.

Consultants are expected to be hired by the end of 2024, by which point tenders for investment in the construction side of the project itself will have been announced.

The Paphos marina is planned to be built in the Potima area, near the village of Kissonerga. It is hoped that the marina will attract pleasure boats and further increase maritime tourism, while also attracting investment to the area.

In addition to the marina project, Lambrou had on Thursday listed two other priorities for his new municipality.

He said upgrades of the road connecting the Tombs of the Kings and Peyeia must be completed “immediately”, describing it as the “most important project”.

He also touched on the matter of the Akamas forest park, saying the issue of construction therein must be “resolved immediately”, so as to “give life and development” to Akamas’ communities.