The works for the completion of the Agia Napa marina are continuing at an intensive pace, the director of the marina, Konstantinos Fytiris, told KYPE.
Mr. Fytiris said that "the marina started its commercial operation on June 1, after five months of pilot operation, during which all the problems that arose were solved. On Friday, June 18, we welcomed the first boat from Portugal, which was 15 days at sea and essentially, the marina was inaugurated with boats from abroad ".
He added that "the port part of the marina with all the services is working properly, and the boats are already being served. All services are provided with smart solutions, since the owner of a boat with security cameras can monitor it at any time, control the consumption of electricity and even send through a special application any request he wishes, in order for this to be implemented within a short time. " .
According to Mr. Fytiris, "the marina of Agia Napa upgrades the entire area of free Famagusta and Cyprus to an international destination, which will no longer be famous only for its beaches and hotels but also for the smart marina for mooring and maintenance of yachts of all types up to 85 meters Superyachts. Very soon it is expected that there will be the possibility of serving in an anchorage of large cruise ships ".
He added that "the approval by the Council of Ministers to make the St. Napa Marina an official port of entry is of great importance, since in addition to the economic one there is also the political dimension as the free Famagusta acquires an official point after 1974. entry into the Republic ".
Answering a question, Mr. Fytiris explained that "the commercial section of the marina is in progress, ie shops and restaurants since, due to the pandemic of the corona, there was a delay, and it is expected to operate for the public early next year."
He also explained that the Ayia Napa marina is divided into five sectors, with the first the port area where the boats are in the sea, the second is the Drystack, a special area consisting of 4 levels, which can accommodate up to 160 boats up to ten meters long. . Ships with a special crane, the largest in the area, are stored in Drystack and then transported again by crane to the sea. The third area is boat repairs, "he said. boats ".
He noted that "the fourth sector is the commercial sector and the fifth is the housing sector, which consists of 200 apartments and 35 houses."
To another question, Mr. Fytiris answered that "after the lockdown, due to the pandemic of the corona, the work in the marina started at an intensive pace and in addition to the existing employees, other recruitments were made, in order to be able to operate the marina in its entirety. ».
Mr. Fytiris also noted that "with its full operation, the marina of Agia Napa will financially upgrade not only the free area of Famagusta but also the whole of Cyprus, since our island has security, all the necessary services, very good climate all year round. , while it can offer all visitors and boat owners what does not exist in other Middle Eastern countries, including a maintenance area for superyachts ".
He added that "if we did not have the coronation pandemic, the marina would be full of boats since the owners who will moor their boats are from Lebanon, Israel and other countries that have been excluded due to the pandemic. However, we have received many requests from boat owners from these countries, with the end of the restrictive measures, to bring their boats to the marina of Ayia Napa ", he said.
He also expressed the view that "if Cyprus continues at this rate of reduction in corona cases and we are a safe destination, then the marina will be filled with boats."
The Director of the Marina also said that "Blue Growth is one of the main pillars of Cyprus' development, we are an island and we must emphasize the sea. Maritime tourism is an area that we need to develop and fortunately it is growing rapidly. "
Asked to report what will happen to the crews of the boats that arrive at the marina on the issue of the corona, Mr. Fytiris said that "we have contacted mobile crews from the companies authorized by the state to perform a corona test. The mobile crews will reach the marina, will do the test on the boat, the passengers will remain on the boat until the results come out and in case they are negative, then they will be able to disembark ", he noted.
Source: KYPE