Apostolos Tomaras
The arrival of 2026 is shaping up to be a major test for the government, particularly when it comes to public infrastructure. Several large-scale projects are running far behind the timelines announced when they were first unveiled, with delays now becoming the norm rather than the exception.
Most of the problematic projects involve the country’s road network. Many are stuck in bureaucratic red tape and endless disputes with contractors, disputes that have dragged projects out for years. In some cases, the situation escalated into open confrontation between the state and construction companies awarded the contracts.
Beyond the social impact, delayed projects also come with a heavy financial price. When works are not completed on time, their budgets rise, sometimes by millions of euros compared to the original cost. More importantly, these problematic public contracts expose deep flaws in the legal and institutional framework governing how projects are awarded and implemented. Despite the government acknowledging these weaknesses, the system continues to operate in a way that breeds dysfunction.
The most striking examples are the natural gas terminal at Vasiliko and the Paphos–Polis Chrysochous road, two projects that effectively collapsed, leaving them unfinished. Even where relations between the state and contractors did not completely break down, delays remain widespread, with serious social and economic consequences.
The Road of Patience
The Paphos–Polis Chrysochous road is perhaps the last outdated provincial road in Cyprus where locals and visitors alike continue to pay a heavy human toll. The need for a modern road linking Paphos to Polis Chrysochous has been clear since the 1990s. Yet it took nearly 20 years for the project to mature and move into the construction phase.
Initial bids were submitted on November 27, 2019, and the contract was signed on May 13, 2021. The project was awarded to Greek construction firm INTRAKAT, which submitted the lowest bid. The contract was valued at €72.979 million plus VAT, with a completion deadline of November 26, 2024.
Two weeks before that deadline, on November 11, 2024, the Public Works Department terminated the contract, citing delays. According to the government, by the time the project was due to be delivered, only 21.1% of the work had been completed.
From November 2024 until recently, the project was frozen after AKTOR, INTRAKAT’s parent company, appealed to the Tenders Review Authority. The authority ultimately ruled in favor of the Public Works Department.
New estimates now place the cost of the project at €92 million, up from €72 million, due to increased material costs. The works cover the Agia Marinouda–Stroumpi section (Phase A), with the goal of completing the 15.5-kilometer stretch within three years. Phase B, covering the Stroumpi–Polis Chrysochous section (15 km), is expected to be tendered and awarded in 2026.
At present, the only works underway are two additional uphill lanes on the existing road: one between Mesogi and Tsada (1.8 km) and another between Giolou and Stroumpi toward Paphos (1.5 km).
Limassol–Saittas Road
Another key project aimed at improving access to mountainous areas is the Limassol–Saittas road. This project also ranks among those facing major delays.
Contracts for Phase A were signed on June 5, 2020, with an initial cost of €26.126 million (excluding VAT). The final cost to date stands at €23.6 million, also excluding VAT.
Phase A, covering 3.6 kilometers from the “Spyros Kyprianou” Athletic Center to the Palodia exit, was delivered last July. However, repairs to drainage shafts and the installation of safety barriers remain pending.
Under the contract, the project should have been completed by March 2023. Extensions granted by the Public Works Department, deemed justified, pushed the deadline to December 2024, a deadline that was still not met.
The New Museum
Plans for the Cyprus Archaeological Museum date back to 2016, when the architectural competition was launched and completed the following year. A contract for design studies was signed in 2019 but was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The construction contract was signed in 2022, and work began in 2023, with completion targeted for 2027. Two years into construction, the contractor requested an 11-month extension.
The construction cost stands at €144 million and is expected to rise further before the project is completed.
Nicosia Ring Road
For the Nicosia district, the ring road is considered one of the most important road projects for improving daily life for a large portion of the population.
The project will be built in six phases. Phase A was delivered in August 2024 with a minor delay. The full ring road will include approximately 32 kilometers of motorways, plus more than 23 kilometers of primary and secondary roads, connected through 16 junctions.
The contract for Phase B3 was signed last July and has a duration of 36 months. If no further delays occur, full completion is expected sometime after 2030.
Final Bills Are Ballooning
Contract terminations and prolonged delays, even when deemed justified, have placed an added burden on public finances.
A prime example is the Paphos–Polis Chrysochous road. By April 2024, well before the contract was terminated, INTRAKAT had already submitted claims totaling €30 million. By October of the same year, those claims rose to €36 million, and today they are estimated at around €50 million.
These figures do not include the increased cost of completing the project through a new contractor. Another serious issue emerging from troubled contracts concerns performance guarantees, which contractors in some cases attempt to block. This is the case with both the Vasiliko terminal and the Paphos–Polis Chrysochous road.
Both matters have ended up in court, with the Republic seeking to cash in the guarantees.
Read the original Greek version here.
