PrimeTel set to sue municipality over substation permit refusal
TELECOMS provider PrimeTel are planning to sue the municipality of Yeroskipou village for acting in bad faith by refusing to grant a permit for a fibre-optics landing station.
Having secured a town planning permit to build the privately-owned landing station in the area, the telecoms company anticipated no problems in eventually securing a construction permit and had in the meantime invested millions of euros in buying equipment and arranging for its transport to the island.
In March 2008, PrimeTel signed an agreement with Reliance Globalcom, a leading telecoms corporation, for the leasing of a fibre-optics network and installation of underwater fibre-optics cables at Yeroskipou.
The system in question, known as “Hawk,” is a multi-terabit, next-generation submarine cable system. PrimeTel has said it has secured 5Gbps of capacity globally with an option for further upgrades in the future. According to the company, the system will help Cyprus in improving its broadband connectivity.
According to reports, the ship transporting the cables was en route to Cyprus when news broke that the municipality had declined the construction permit for the substation.
During a recent session, the Yeroskipou municipal council voted against granting the construction permit, citing health concerns for the local population. Fears were also reportedly voiced that real estate prices might plummet if the substation were erected in the area.
According to reports, some 50 people had demonstrated against the substation outside the municipality while the session was in progress.
According to Politis, PrimeTel has yet to be informed in writing of the reasons for the decision, which could see the municipality being sued for millions of euros.
The paper said the municipality’s decision was in spite of the recommendations of the municipal engineer and legal adviser to issue the construction permit. PrimeTel says also that an environmental impact report which it submitted to the municipality was ignored, as were its assurances that no mobile phone masts or transmitters would be erected in the area. The company also claims it met all requirements for the construction permit.
Politis said also that during the contentious session of the municipality’s council, Mayor Tasos Kouzoupos warned of the legal risks of rejecting PrimeTel’s application but that faced with pressure from the councillors, he went with the flow and voted against the permit.
Established in 2003, PrimeTel operates the only private island-wide fibre-optic network alternative to CyTA, while its international network spans from Cyprus to Greece, Russia and the United Kingdom.
