The Mayor of Ayia Napa described yesterday's report of the newspaper "Haravgi" as extremely misleading, in which he allegedly approved the lease of state land for the benefit of a company of his family interests for the construction of a hotel unit.
The report was presented with the front page headline of the newspaper on Monday, November 13, while the same issue is presented today, Tuesday, targeting the Mayor of Ayia Napa for transactions of the business of the Karousos family regarding the lease of a piece of state land.
Karousos: "The post is non-existent and misleading"
At the same time, the Mayor of Ayia Napa appears as a bulwark against the newspaper and the author of the article, who stated through Astra radio that he considers the article "misleading and non-existent".
During his radio intervention, Mr. Karousos criticized the journalist of the newspaper, Tassos Perdio, since he had not previously contacted him, in order to record, as he said, the real events.
Karousos: "I asked for a lease in the Municipality and not in a company"
Regarding the report, he revealed that the lease of state land in a business of the Karousos family has nothing to do with reality. He noted that on his own initiative the specific request had been rejected, citing relevant minutes of the plenary session of the Municipal Council.
According to the data cited by the newspaper, the application bears file number ADX 32/2017 and was submitted on April 10, 2017 to the District Cadastral Officer of Famagusta. It concerns a state property in the Municipality of Ayia Napa with parcel number 538, in section 8, sheet / plan 2-292-372 / 373 and 2-293-372 / 373. The application was submitted with an attached topographic plan and the company, in the interests of the family circle of the Karousos family, requests that it be examined in accordance with the Real Estate Property of the Republic (Disposal) KDP Regulations 173/1989 to 2005.
According to the Mayor of Ayia Napa, in April 2017, a hotel unit applied for the lease of state land, without being informed. During his briefing, Mr. Karousos stated that he disagreed with the specific request as the piece is located in front of the Sculpture Park which, as he characteristically stated, is one of the largest projects he has implemented as Mayor. On the contrary, he, reacting to the request, sent an application to the Department of Lands and Surveys in the same month for the lease of the specific plot for the benefit of the Municipality of Ayia Napa.
He went on to say that during the process for the new Ayia Napa Local Plan with his own proposal, which has been approved by the City Council, he had raised the issue of public use of state land south of the sculpture park and its use only for the sculpture park , while prohibiting leasing to individuals.
He also noted that on November 2, the Municipal Council took a unanimous decision to reject the specific application. He proposed to the Municipal Council to reject the application, citing the preservation of the value of the Sculpture Park.
The article in the newspaper HARAVGI (by Tasos Perdiou)
State land for hotel of the family of the mayor of Ayia Napa - Megaton scandal with a request for the concession of a state fillet to the company of the Karousos family
A megaton scandal is underway in the free area of Famagusta and specifically in Ayia Napa, where state land is being sold for the construction of a hotel of interests of the family of the mayor Giannis Karousos. According to our reliable information, the company Meridian Hotels Ltd, co-owned by the family of the mayor of Ayia Napa, Giannis Karousos, has submitted an application to the Famagusta Land Registry, requesting the lease of a state fillet in Ayia Napa for the construction of a tourist attraction.
The application bears file number ADX 32/2017 and was submitted on April 10, 2017 to the District Cadastral Officer of Famagusta. It concerns a state property in the Municipality of Ayia Napa with parcel number 538, in section 8, sheet / plan 2-292-372 / 373 and 2-293-372 / 373. The application was submitted with an attached topographic plan and the mayor's family hotel business requests that it be examined in accordance with the Property Property of the Republic (Disposal) Regulations KDP 173/1989 to 2005.
In an annex attached by the company as the reason for the application, he explains that the purpose of the lease is the construction of a new tourist unit for the classification of a tourist village. The planned tourist village will consist of 60 apartments on 2 floors, with outdoor pools, restaurant, reception areas, gyms, indoor pool, etc.
According to the applicant, the cost will amount to 4 million euros and is presented as a significant investment for the economy.
This state property is located in a magnificent location, on the hill next to the road Ayia Napa - Protaras and faces the sea.
Second family hotel on state land!
It is noteworthy that the state plot that is requested to be leased is located next to another state fillet on which is built the existing hotel of the family of the mayor of Ayia Napa, Sun Garden!
Sun Garden is owned by Meridian Hotels Ltd and came into the possession of the Karousos family with the purchase of it by refugee hoteliers to whom the state land had been leased after the events of 1974.
With the pending application in the Land Registry, therefore, the family business of the mayor of Ayia Napa asks to ensure the possession of a second state plot for the construction and operation of a hotel.
The application to the Land Registry for the allocation of state land to the family business of the mayor of Ayia Napa raises a big issue of order. On the one hand, the applicants are big businessmen and now hoteliers, who could well expand their business to private property, on the other hand, there is a huge issue of order and conflict of interest from the fact that this application must go through the Ayia Napa City Council. municipality of Karousos.
This is the second major scandal involving the mayor of Ayia Napa that we have been revealing in the last year. In December 2016 we brought to light the case of municipal football stadiums, some of which are under the exclusive management of the hotel of the mayor's family, which in this way exploiting public wealth is reaping the fruits of the huge demand for stadiums in recent years. from teams coming to Cyprus for winter preparation. Apart from that, however, we had also revealed the scandal with the privately owned stadiums of the mayor's family, which had been built without the required permits.
Famagusta.News