Bureaucracy and interests put the marinas of Ag. Napas and Protaras
Complaint that public officials of the Department of Urban Planning and Land Registry, who maintain holiday homes in the area, hinder the development
The interests and the bureaucracy delay the promotion of the two marinas in the areas of Ayia Napa and Protaras. Extensive procedures, constant requests for documents and permits from the departments involved and the four-month wait for an opinion from the Legal Service seem to be the obstacles that do not allow the two projects to move forward for good. The issue was discussed yesterday by the Parliamentary Committee on Trade, which heard the mayors of Ayia Napa and Paralimni make complaints, which relate to the delay observed in the implementation of the two marinas. of the Department of Urban Planning and Land Registry, which maintain holiday homes in Sotira or on the beach of Kapparis or Protaras, are hindering the development, while at the same time he called the Auditor General to investigate his complaints.Out of schedule
The two projects are off schedule, with the mayors of the two districts protesting. With regard to Marina Protaras, the Commission was told that an opinion from the Legal Service has been pending for four months, in order to promote the tender documents. The Chairman of the Committee, MP of DISY Zacharias Zachariou said that a letter will be sent requesting information on the location of the matter. An investor has been found in connection with the Ayia Napa marina, who has submitted a guarantee of € 25 million and the delay seems to be due to the untimely examination of the studies by the competent departments of the state. timetables ", said in his statements Mr. Zachariou. He added that the Commission had taken the initiative to contact all the services involved in order to set schedules, promoting the start of projects. "We hope, under our own pressure, that we will soon bypass all the problems," he added, adding that unless pressure is put on promoting development projects, unemployment will remain high."Unacceptable behavior"
DISY MP Kyriakos Hatzigiannis stated in his statements that many years have passed and "there is not the slightest progress in relation to these projects, because the public administration plays the role of serving the interests of two other projects", the viability of which is not is guaranteed. He also spoke of mockery on the part of the public administration services on the issue, at a time when, as he said, the will of the Governments has been declared over time for the implementation of the two projects. At the same time, he referred to the "incompetence" and "unacceptable behavior" of the services involved, which require in the course of the project various supporting documents and studies from investors."Challenge"
Christakis Tziovanis, an AKEL MP, said that the work of the Ayia Napa marina has already matured under the previous Government, while he added that the delay from the various services "reaches the limits of the challenge". We do not want procedures to be bypassed, but "the prolonged delay, which endangers the project, should stop immediately," said Mr. Tziovanis, adding that its implementation will give new life to the province of Famagusta.Until June 30
EDEK MP George Varnava referred to the problems created by the bureaucracy, while he said that after a delay of 14 years, "some people also serve interests". In the case of the Marina Protaras, she also asked the Legal Service "to leave her house and finally to deal with opinions, which are before her for more than four months". If the government really means what it says, there is enough time until June 30 to announce the two projects, concluded Mr. Barnabas.Karousos: "Investment of € 250 million"
The Mayor of Ayia Napa, Giannis Karousos, stated that a one-month deadline is given, in order to show the will for the construction of the marina. As he said, there is an investor who has submitted a guarantee of 25 million euros, while the project itself concerns an investment of € 250 million, with the estimated revenues for the state amounting to more than one billion euros. It is also expected that 800 jobs will be created during construction. The Mayor referred to the constant obstacles posed by various services, at a time when the company has declared its readiness to start port works soon. He mentioned, finally, that the marina of Ayia Napa operates in addition to that of Protaras.Mayor of Paralimni: "Great interest"
The Mayor of Paralimni, Theodoros Pyrillis, stated that although everything is ready for the announcement of the tender, the opinion of the Legal Service in a 16-page document is expected for four months now. He added that the Municipality contacted an individual for a legal opinion, which he received in one day. He also said that the investors' interest in the project is great, as three European investors have already approached him, while, according to the information from the Ministry of Commerce, there are four others who are interested. The project is of the order of 100 million euros and is expected to create 200 jobs with its completion and hundreds of jobs during construction.Source: TODAY