Options for Larnaca’s port and marina are being evaluated and there is a commitment to inform the public as soon as possible about next steps, Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades said on Monday. Speaking on CyBC radio, the minister said he had visited the site over the weekend to see the port’s operations, including the ongoing Amalthea initiative and the securing of equipment, such as cranes.
“Amalthea is currently not operating with cranes but by other means,” the minister added. “We want it to increase the output from the port and this will happen soon.”
Access to equipment previously supplied by ex-managing company Kition is being handled through the legal service and will be cleared up within 30 days, he said. A meeting has been slated for Monday afternoon to further evaluate the situation.
Employees, meanwhile, have seen some pay interruptions which are being handled by the labour ministry, Vafeades said, although President Nikos Christodoulides on Saturday assured the former employees of Kition that there was no reason to be concerned.
Other loose ends, such as the liquidation of an outstanding guarantee which had been requested by the state are proceeding “as normal” through the courts, Vafeades said.
Project Reboot: New Directions and Possibilities
Multiple suggestions have been recorded for the project’s reboot, Vafeades noted, and they involve breaking down the project into smaller components and reducing its scale. One suggestion offers a markedly different vision for the works, the minister added, declining, however, to elaborate at this stage.
According to the minister, time is of the essence and all efforts are focused on “materialising the works in whatever form they will take as soon as possible.” What is clear is that both a marina and a port will be the outcome but establishing a new thrust for the project, including a new tendering process, will take time.
A re-evaluation is underway as to what types of cargo are transported through Larnaca, the minister said, hinting at the possibility of a niche specialisation of the port from which farmers and livestock operators could stand to benefit.
“It is not possible at this stage to say if [the restart] will take years,” or be more immediate, Vafeades said, and changed circumstances must be taken into account.
One scenario to speed up the process would be for the state’s public works department to take on the building of roads and pumping stations, previously included in the now defunct project, the minister said.
