The blocking of funds in the state budget for contracting consultancy services for privatisation projects does affect plans to commercialise Larnaca’s port, sources have confirmed to the Cyprus Mail.
Last week, during the review of the 2017 state budget, opposition parties blocked a government expenditure of €1.4 million for the contracting of consultancy services. Consultants would have advised the government on how to draft specifications for tenders and helped in the evaluation of these. Without this advice, the government does not have the expertise to proceed.
Without the funds earmarked to hire privatisation consultants, the procedure for Larnaca cannot go forward, transport minister Marios Demetriades has warned.
Following the minister’s remarks, the opposition parties which voted to block the item have doubled down.
Rather than admit their mistake, some party cadres insist the consultancy funds did not pertain to the port of Larnaca.
But others appeared unsure. Akel MP Giorgos Georgiou has conceded that it was unclear to lawmakers at the time they were voting that the funds also related to Larnaca.
Georgiou added that if this turned out to be the case, his party would gladly support the submission by the government of a supplementary budget specifically for Larnaca port once parliament reconvenes on January 13.
Under the constitution, parliament is prohibited from increasing the state budget.
That essentially leaves only one route: the government must submit a supplementary budget to include the consultancy privatisation funds for Larnaca.
But supplementary budgets may be submitted no sooner than six months after passage of the state budget. This means no earlier than June 2017.
In turn, that could throw a monkey wrench into the government’s plans, since the deadline set for submissions of expressions of interest for the commercialisation of Larnaca port is February 3, 2017.
The transport ministry would notify those deemed eligible to submit bids a month later. The successful bidder was expected to be selected by August 2017.
At least three major companies or consortia have in the meantime expressed “serious” interest in the redevelopment of the town’s port and marina, daily Politis reports.
The redevelopment of the Larnaca port and marina – which would see berthing capacity increase to 1,000 from 350 currently – is supported by local residents eager for money to pour into the town.
Not wanting to be blamed for delaying the project, local political power brokers are now claiming that the privatisation funds which their parties cut had nothing to do with the port.
And with municipal elections looming this coming weekend, the port’s fate has become a major talking point among mayoral hopefuls.
Acting Larnaca mayor Petros Christodoulou, a mayoral candidate supported by Edek, even suggested that the transport minister was not telling the truth.
Edek was among the parties voting to block the privatisation funds.
Confirming that parliament was uncertain about its vote last week, House Speaker Demetris Syllouris said on Tuesday he was undertaking an initiative to establish whether the funds cut related to Larnaca.
However he would publish his findings after the December 18 municipal elections.
Did the blocked funds also pertain to Larnaca? According to government sources, they did.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the sources said that from their standpoint, there was no confusion about the matter.
The sources told the Cyprus Mail that the parliament’s budget department is currently brainstorming to see whether there is some way – other than a supplementary budget – that funds can be diverted to pay consultants to advise the government on the privatisation of Larnaca port.
