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Students at the University of Cyprus may have to wait at least six years before the university’s new dormitories are fully ready, university officials said, as housing shortages continue to frustrate students and their families.
Vassos Olympios, head of the university’s Technical Services, told Kathimerini's Adriana Pantelis that the second phase of student residences is still in the early planning stages. A feasibility study by a private company is expected in October, and if approved by the Finance Ministry, the university will launch an architectural competition, a process that could take two years alone. Construction, he said, may take another four years.
To soften the wait, the university plans to open the dorms in two stages. The first group of students could move in after four years, with the remaining rooms ready by the six-year mark. The project aims to add 900 beds, enough to house roughly a quarter of the student population.
The process has already been delayed by a year. Olympios said additional requirements from the Ministry of Finance, including sustainability studies and project memos for investments over €15 million, slowed progress. “It’s the process we must follow to be correct and formal,” he said.
But students are growing impatient. Konstantinos Karseras, president of the student association POFEN, called the university’s housing plans “problematic,” pointing out that current dorms provide just 230 beds for around 7,000 students. Rising rents in Nicosia are compounding the problem, leaving many students struggling to find affordable housing.
Attempts to work with private landlords to provide temporary solutions have also fallen flat. Kleanthis Pissaridis, head of Student Welfare, said last year’s outreach to apartment owners near campus “led to a dead end” due to lack of interest. In the meantime, the university says it is exploring other ways to support students until the new dormitories are ready.
“The second phase of the halls of residence will be a permanent and effective solution,” Pissaridis said. “Until then, we are doing our best to help students individually and collectively.”
For now, however, students face a long wait, and a tight housing market, before a more permanent solution arrives.
