Government welcomes approval of marina law

COMMERCE Minister Nicos Rolandis yesterday said he and President Glafcos Clerides were pleased at House passage of a bill to let Cyprus, which has only two marinas, build up to five more to compete with some 1,400 others ringing the Mediterranean.

Construction on new marinas, and expansion of the two existing ones, could begin as early as June, Rolandis said, if the tendering process went smoothly.

The House action late on Thursday surprised Rolandis, as he had not expected a vote on the measure until next week. He said President Clerides “was very gratified as well” at the bill’s passage and was certain to sign it into law.

The measure repealed a section of Cyprus law that had prohibited leasing to private individuals any part of the shoreline going into the sea for the purpose of building permanent facilities of any kind – such as marinas.

In passing the bill, the House also withdrew its insistence on retaining the right to set the rates to be charged to boatowners using the marinas, even though the facilities are to be operated by private investors.

Rolandis’ plans call for 5,000 berths around the island: 1,200 in Paphos; 1, 200 in Limassol; 1,200 more in Larnaca, whose existing marina’s capacity is only 300 boats; 600 berths in Ayia Napa; 300 berths in Protaras; and perhaps 200 in Polis. The St Rafael Hotel’s 300-berth marina in Limassol would not expand.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.