£100 million marina plan

CYPRUS is to build six new yachting marinas by 2002 at a cost of £100 million in a drive to boost a top-class tourist niche market.

The new marinas will house a total of 4,000 vessels in an effort to tap growing demand for berth space in the eastern Mediterranean.

"Demand for berthing space in this region is expanding rapidly," said Minister for Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Nicos Rolandis.

There are currently only 700 berths for yachts at 2 marinas on the island. The new harbours will be built along the west and south coasts.

Although the marinas are to be state property, Rolandis insisted that the £100 million cost would funded by the private sector, which would operate the facilities for about 220 years to recoup their investment.

The House of Representatives passed the marina-specific regulations last Thursday. The government will request international tender applications before the autumn.

Tourism accounts for a fifth of GDP and it has been a persistent effort of the Rolandis administration to attract big spender tourism.

April tourism was up 23 per cent on last year, and the total number of visitors since January has increased by 16 per cent compared to the first five months of 1999.

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.