Limassol terminates contract for contentious works

THE Limassol municipality has terminated a contract with the developer who undertook the reconstruction of Kavasoglou and Misiaouli streets and will issue a request for tenders for the remaining works, it was announced on Thursday.

“Due to various problems, work to date has not been performed as expected, resulting in significant delays that put the entire project implementation at risk,” the announcement said.

In an effort to resolve the problem the municipality has signed an amended agreement with contractor FAP construction Ltd. which started work on the project in October 2018. The developer will finish the works in the area where it is currently operating and will then hand the rest of the project back to the municipality.

Tenders for the completion will be issued immediately with the aim to get it ready on time to receive the expected co-financing from the European Regional Development Fund for the period of 2014 until 2020.

The project, with a budget of €5.2 million, includes more than just fixing the central roads in the city. Some 50 new trees will be planted and 10 bus stops will be added. The area will also have pavements ramps for disabled people and a bridge for pedestrians and cyclists, pedestrian crossings, new lighting, additional traffic lights and an underground utilities network.

The original contract was signed in August 2018 after long discussions, and public consultations.

Mayor Nicos Nicolaides, presenting the project in 2017, said that after eight public consultations the number of parking places has been increased from 81 to 158, while the cycling path has been shortened by 300 metres from 850 to 550 metres.

The shopkeepers claim the reconstruction has been planned without taking them into consideration though they are directly affected and argue that they will feel the consequences, leading to closures and bankruptcy of 140 businesses.

The municipality however insisted that the plans needed to go ahead as stipulated by the European Union otherwise the town would not receive the funding.

 

 

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