Talks under way to move parliament into Yiorkion complex

By Martin Hellicar

DEPUTIES could be moving up in the world, swapping the dilapidated surroundings of the existing parliamentary building for the no-expenses- spared luxury of the Yiorkion Residence.

The Cyprus Mailhas learnt that the government is in negotiations with a view to buying the recently moth-balled high-class hotel and shopping centre as a new home for parliament.

These negotiations are, according to one source, going “extremely well.” The proposed purchase price for the plush high-rise complex is reported to be around the £20 million mark.

House president Spyros Kyprianou has his heart set on a move to the Yiorkion, a reliable source said. Kyprianou is apparently personally heading negotiations on the government side.

The Yiorkion opened in a blaze of publicity just over a year ago but never lived up to expectations and finally closed its doors a few days ago.

But the half a mile move across town for deputies would provide plenty of ammunition for opposition parties.

Buying and renovating the Yiorkion would cost considerably more than the £15 million the state has budgeted for building a new House.

Work has already begun on a new parliament building in central Nicosia, but the discovery of antiquities under the construction site has put a spanner in the works.

The government thinking seems to be that the Yiorkion would provide a quick- fix solution to the situation.

But Akel mouthpiece Haravghihas already made clear its position on the matter, claiming the government only wants to buy the complex in order to bail out its owners, whom the paper describes as government cronies. The Yiorkion is a totally unsuitable site for the House, Haravghiargued.

Similar allegations were made when the state bought a privately-built block of flats to house the Education Ministry.

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.