18.07.2023
The redevelopment of the marina and port of Larnaca will be in full swing from early 2024, when the €1.2 billion project will begin to take shape.
“From the beginning of the year, the area around the marina will become a huge construction site,” said Alexandru, CEO of Kition Ocean Holdings, a Cypriot -Israeli consortium that won the renovation project.
Alexandrou specified that the central building, which is estimated to take 18 months to complete, will house the offices of Kition, the Local Port Authority, the Cyprus Port Authority, Customs and other local services.
Work on the buildings is expected to begin in April 2024. Other buildings intended for the police, the Ministry of Agriculture and the cruise ship terminal will be completed within a year.
According to Alexandru, planning is also underway for a pier where a yacht club and service building will be built, with construction to begin next April. During the same period, infrastructure projects will be launched, including roads and footpaths connecting the development area with the city.
Alexandru said that work on the pier is underway and is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year. The goal is to build a pier for the celebration of the Epiphany in January and the groundbreaking ceremony.
It will take four years for contractors to complete work from the start of the project, which is estimated to bring the government about 12 billion euros, Alexandru said. This will create 4,000 new jobs, including those directly related to harbor operations and businesses that will set up outlets in commercial areas.
The work will be carried out in four stages over 15 years.
Under the BOT project, the government will receive a fixed rent and a certain percentage of income from a concession agreement with a port/marina on a 40-year lease and a property purchased on a 125-year lease. After 40 years, the port and wharf can be returned to the government.
The renovation of the existing marina will accommodate 650 yachts and offer services such as boat repairs.
The upgraded port of Larnaca will accommodate ships up to 450 meters in length, such as luxury cruise ships, research ships, military ships and other merchant ships.
The property is expected to include luxury hotels, apartment buildings, a convention center, shopping malls, educational spaces, research auditoriums, a medical school, a college of tourism, and an environment and energy university.
