Newsroom
Six private operators were given the right to develop parts of Cyprus’ coastline. Eight years later, not one of the planned berthing facilities is operating, not a cent in annual fees has been paid and the state is estimated to have lost more than €5 million.
That is the picture presented to Parliament’s Audit Committee on Thursday, and MPs are calling it a major scandal.
The issue concerns six small docking facilities approved by the Cabinet in 2018 in Peyia, Alaminos, Ha Potami, Pachyammos and Softades. Smaller than marinas, the sites were intended to accommodate up to 150 leisure boats each.
In return for using these coastal areas, the private operators were expected to pay the state annual fees ranging from €75,000 to €262,000.
But the operators asked not to pay until they received all the necessary permits. Those permits never arrived, the facilities were never completed and the money was never collected.
Meanwhile, the coastal sites remained reserved for the operators, preventing the state from putting them to another use.
In other words, the companies held on to potentially valuable rights while the public received no berths, no annual income and no completed projects.
How did this continue for eight years?
The Legal Service ruled in 2021 that the management licences would only become active after the necessary permits had been secured. It also advised that charging the companies before then would be unconstitutional under the existing law and recommended changing the legislation.
That change took years to materialise.
According to DISY MP Giorgos Pamboridis, officials identified the need to amend the law in 2023, decided to act in 2024, completed the proposed legislation in 2025 and finally put it out for consultation in July 2026.
He described the timeline as a clear example of the public administration failing to deal with a known problem.
The Deputy Ministry of Tourism also confirmed something likely to leave taxpayers scratching their heads: there are no signed contracts for the concessions.
Instead, the arrangements rest on the Cabinet’s 2018 decision and a draft management licence containing various conditions.
The Deputy Ministry said the current legislation does not give it the power to take action against the operators or withdraw the sites.
A €10,000 solution for land worth far more?
The proposed amendment would introduce a flat annual fee of €10,000 for each site until the required permits are issued.
The Audit Office is not convinced.
It says charging the same amount for every location ignores the actual value of each coastal site. It also argues that €10,000 is unlikely to give operators much reason to hurry.
The Land Registry, which calculated the original fees, told MPs it was not consulted about the new amount. Its representative also pointed out that the earlier valuations are now several years old and that the land is likely worth even more today.
The Audit Office wants the fee to reflect the value of the area being reserved. It has also recommended setting a deadline so that a company cannot hold on to a coastal site indefinitely without developing it.
If an operator repeatedly fails to meet its obligations, auditors say the state should take the site back.
Did anyone make money from nearby land?
The missing fees may not be the end of the story.
MPs have requested records of property transactions around the six locations, both before and after the Cabinet approved the facilities.
AKEL MP Christos Christofides said Parliament wants to establish whether anyone bought nearby land knowing in advance where the berthing facilities would be developed. A project of this kind could significantly increase the value of surrounding property.
These are allegations and questions, not established findings. The committee is now seeking evidence from the Land Registry and other government departments.
MPs also raised claims about links between some of the beneficiaries and people close to the former government, legal officials and law firms. Those claims will also require investigation.
Public coastline, private privilege
For the average Cypriot, this is not simply an argument about boats or paperwork.
Cyprus’ coastline is public wealth. If part of it is set aside for a private development, the public should receive something in return: income, jobs, tourism facilities or, at the very least, the project that was promised.
In this case, Cyprus appears to have received none of the above.
AKEL MP Nicos Ketteros offered a comparison many families will understand. If a refugee is granted part of a state-owned plot and fails to use it within the permitted period, the state can take it back. Yet these operators, he said, have held valuable coastal rights for eight years without laying “a single stone.”
DIKO MP Chrysanthos Savvides also alleged that work had been carried out at some locations without the required environmental and planning checks. He further claimed that members of the public were being prevented from accessing parts of the coast because the operators treated them as private areas.
Those allegations have not yet been independently established.
The parliamentary inquiry will continue once the Deputy Ministry of Tourism and the Land Registry hand over the additional documents requested by MPs.
