Investigations into cost of Paphos’ promenade revamp

The project to revamp Paphos’ coastal front will be investigated by the authorities in connection with possible misappropriations, Paphos Mayor Phedonas Phedonos said on Wednesday.
Phedonos said the attorney-general has given instructions for the case to be investigated after the project exceeded its budgeted cost by 40 per cent – two phases — and 128 orders for extra work were given verbally, without the approval of the municipal council.
The project started in November 2007 and finished in 2009, including a two-and-a-half month extension.
The initial bid, according to the mayor, was around €6.8mln without VAT. The quantity surveyor certified that work costing around €7.5mln was carried out and €8.2mln was paid. There are still outstanding contractor claims worth close to €600,000.
Regarding the second phase of the project, the Paphos mayor said the bid was worth €623,000 but taxpayers eventually paid €1.09mln. An additional €709,000 was paid for the construction of shades in private properties, without the job being included in the tenders.
Authorities were also “investigating if one more amount was paid, recorded in the municipality’s books under a different name”, he said.
Referring to the extra jobs, Phedonos voiced his conviction that the police investigation would determine who gave the orders.
A construction site inspector on a €93,802 contract was eventually paid €155,850, Phenodos said, while the quantity surveyor pocketed €142,000 instead of €101,000.
A former municipal engineer, who oversaw the project, received €40,000 in overtime pay and he was claiming an additional €5,000, the mayor said.
And in 2012, there was a request to pass a decision that would have legitimised the decisions taken four years earlier.

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