Stop the mockery over Larnaca marina says protestors

Protestors in Larnaca have called for “an end to the stagnation and mockery” around developing the town’s port and marina.

They called for the immediate examination of the proposals so development projects in the port and marina can finally begin as they have already been “accepted by society”.

Protesting in Europe square on Saturday afternoon, protesters held banners reading ‘Larnaca demands the development it deserves. No more delay,’ ‘We demand the projects you showed us for a nice city’, ‘Major projects mean jobs, economic activity, increase in tourism support for businesses’, ‘Enough mockery of projects’.

Disy president Annita Demetriou told protestors that we all need to be united in support of the project, “for Larnaca, for the future it deserves, for every citizen”. She said the project, which ad already reached an advanced stage affected the whole of Cyprus.

“We want answers but we also want solutions,” she said. “For something that will benefit Larnaca, our Cyprus, we are all united together.”

She said the issue has been discussed many times in the House, and as its president wondered “how a mature project has been wrecked and we are back to zero”.

Interest in the project and getting it back on track, she added, has nothing to do with the elections.

Former minister of works and current Famagusta district government Yiannis Karousos, who signed the initial contracts for the project, told the people of Larnaca they had been wronged.

“It is an investment of €1.2 billion which would benefit the economy on an annual basis of €125 million, and you can calculate what this means in terms of jobs, redevelopments, and everything else that will exist and Larnaca. This project should not have been cancelled.”

District governor of Larnaca Angelos Hadjicharalambous called for pressure to be put on the state to implement the port and marina project.

On Friday, while visiting the site, current minister for works Alexis Vafeades said the next step for the stalled Larnaca marina redevelopment would focus on dredging works, the tender for the nautical club and the evaluation of proposals to revive the project.

The redevelopment of Larnaca’s marina and port has faced repeated setbacks since the government terminated its contract with Kition in March 2024 over a dispute on financial guarantees.

The original completion date of March next year has been pushed back, leaving the project’s future unresolved.