By Angelos Anastasiou
A new environmental study for the planned construction of a luxury complex in Pera Pedi, to be built in part on land bought from President Nicos Anastasiades’ brother and sister, is required as the number of people to be employed has shot up from an estimated 60 to 300, lawmakers on the House environment committee heard on Wednesday.
The development caused a stir last week, after local daily Haravgi, affiliated with main opposition Akel, ran a front-page story claiming the complex was to be built on land declared by Anastasiades in his asset statement last May.
The president responded that the land he declared was a one-twelfth stake in a larger plot, equal to those owned by his brother and sister, all of which was sold to the investors except for his own part.
After asking Auditor-general Odysseas Michaelides to probe the issue and make his findings public, Anastasiades last Sunday announced to a political gathering in Pelendri that he would be donating the piece of land in question.
On Wednesday, the House environment committee asked various government departments to weigh in on the controversy.
Environment department head Costas Hadjipanayiotou told deputies that “all views from various departments will be taken into account and assessed” before a final view can be formulated.
Water Development Board official Nicos Neocleous said the board’s main concern is avoiding any pollution of the Kouris dam – the largest in Cyprus – and that the conditions it has set must be met 100 per cent in order to green-light the investment.
Forestry department head Takis Tsintides said the exact number of pine trees on the land intended for the development has not yet been calculated, a task to be completed in the coming days.
However, he noted that the average number of trees on state land ranges from 127 to 133 per hectare.
But the department has not yet come to any final decisions, he added.
“We have not yet formed an opinion,” Tsintides said.
“For a project this large there must be a meeting with senior officials so that we can take a position. Therefore, how can we speak with certainty?”
A Limassol district office rep said the environment and development are two sides of the same coin.
“Some trees may be felled but they will be replaced with others and the local economy and community will be helped,” he said.
Pera Pedi community leader Lenas Markantonis said that the representatives of various departments spoke in favour of approving the development.
Addressing the issue that came up with the number of employees that will be required to operate the complex, Markantonis said the investors must co-operate with the departments, so that once the new environmental-impact study can be prepared and the project authorized as soon as possible.
Akel MP Nicos Kettiros said that, instead of clearing things up, Wednesday’s session created a murkier picture.
“The [developers] admitted that they bought the land from the president’s relatives even as they didn’t essentially need it, just because, they said, they had the funds,” he said.
“The Land Registry, citing issues of privacy, refused to answer any questions [regarding land sales], with the developers eventually furnishing the required information. So we must ask whether there is a reason the Land Registry refused to provide the information, particularly as the president’s asset statement is in the public domain.”
