Limassol coastal path ‘shameful’

Improvements to the coastal path in Limassol should be a government priority, members of the House commerce committee said on Tuesday but instead no-one from the interior ministry even attended their discussion on the matter.

“We should feel nothing but shame over the beachfront promenade connecting all of Limassol’s five-star hotels,” Disy deputy Nicos Sykas said.

“After the adverse weather of 2023, and during the committee’s first discussion of the matter, there were promises from the government, specifically the interior ministry, that it could immediately proceed with temporary landscaping of the path to ensure it remains accessible,” he said.

After no-one turned up for Tuesday’s discussion, Sykas invited the interior minister to visit the promenade and see for himself the state it is currently in.

He expressed the hope that with the government’s “quick reflexes” the problem will be solved, adding that the interior ministry “has an obligation” to be present at the next House commerce committee in 15 days, and to immediately give instructions to create unhindered access to the footpath.

Akel’s Costas Costa said on November 26, 2023, serious damages were recorded in four or five spots on the footpath after strong sea storms, adding that when committee members visited the location on December 15 for an inspection, “we saw unbelievable things.

“As a Cypriot, I am ashamed that in one of the most expensive areas of Cyprus, with the biggest and most expensive hotels, there is a pedestrian footpath used daily by thousands of locals and tourists which is in this condition,” he added.

Costa added that apart from the damaged areas of the footpath, which have been fenced off, deputies saw “public showers in a deplorable state, prunings thrown away and abandoned for many months, electricity cables cut and exposed and weeds everywhere, with no lighting in the evenings.

“We saw wheelchairs unable to move forward, parents with their children in strollers having to go down to the sand because since November, no-one has been interested in solving this problem,” he stressed.

The estimated cost of repairs is €300,000.

Finally, he said complaints from tourists are continuous.

Green Party deputy Stavros Papadouris said that Limassol and other tourist towns in Cyprus benefit from a large amount of cash which also helps the state coffers and questioned whether “we are prepared to lose” this amount.