THE GOVERNMENT only received three tenders for the construction and operation of five new marinas, it was revealed yesterday.
Commerce, Industry and Tourism Minister George Lillikas could not be reached for comment yesterday, but sources close to the marinas issue told the Cyprus Mail that the government could not have expected to find investors willing to go along with its terms.
“The terms were not right from the beginning,” the source said. “The government shouldn’t expect an investor to invest such an amount of money or try to make a forecast for the next 30-45 years.”
According to reports yesterday, tenders were only received for marinas at Limassol and Ayia Napa and the expansion of Larnaca. No interest was shown for the creation of marinas at Paphos and Protaras-Paralimni.
The government had invited international tenders for the creation of the five long-awaited new marinas under the Build Operate Transfer (BOT) method at the five areas. The deadline was last Friday.
At Paphos, the Potima area in Kissonerga was earmarked for the marina with a capacity of 1,000 vessels. The Limassol marina is to be built to the west of the old port and have a capacity of 1,000 vessels while the St Raphael Marina in Limassol will continue to operate with a capacity of 250 vessels. In Larnaca, the existing Marina is to be extended so that its current capacity of 450 vessels will expand to 1,000 vessels.
The Ayia Napa Marina was intended to be at Loumata area with a capacity of 600 vessels. Paralimni marina was to be built near the fishing shelter with a capacity of 250 vessels. Current marina space totals around 700 berths, 450 at Larnaca and 250 at the St Raphael marina in Limassol.
Under the terms and conditions, successful bidders would undertake the development, operation and management of the marinas for up to 48 years, after which they would be returned to the state along with all installations. In addition to basic port facilities, the marinas are to include commercial and entertainment buildings.
The source said he had recently spoken to one of the bidders, who was concerned about the length of the contract. He had also spoken to the Minister three weeks ago, he said, and Lillikas admitted there had been little interest.
He said the government was going to accept the tenders while also negotiating with other companies, which had expressed an interest but not submitted a bid. “A lot of companies are concerned about the uncertainty of the political situation and how things might change if there is a solution,” the source said.
