Newsroom
A project meant to link Paphos with Polis Chrysochous has become one of Cyprus’ most notorious construction headaches, mired in legal battles, ballooning costs, and government missteps that have left it frozen for decades.
According to an intriguing article by Kathimerini's Dorita Yiannakou, the long-delayed motorway remains stalled after the Republic of Cyprus terminated its contract in 2024 with AKTOR, the Greek contractor accused of failing to meet its obligations. AKTOR fired back with legal appeals, blocking a fresh tender process and plunging the project into legal limbo. Officials now admit completion may not come before 2030–2032, if at all.
The road, considered crucial for Paphos’ economic and social development, has turned into a showcase of delays, court fights, and political embarrassment. Despite years of planning, compensation payouts to landowners, and millions already spent, the project is still at square one.
Soaring costs only deepen the controversy. Originally estimated at €274 million some 20 years ago, the motorway’s budget has climbed to €330 million today. Expropriation costs alone rose from €85 million to more than €100 million, and the state already paid AKTOR €14.4 million for partial work before the contract was scrapped. The contractor is now seeking more than €35 million in compensation, while two letters of guarantee worth €10 million remain unresolved.
The latest twist came in August, when the Transport Ministry announced a new €90 million tender for the first phase of the project, only for AKTOR to block it again by winning provisional measures from the Review Authority for Public Procurement. The company claims the tender process is flawed and risks violating transparency and fair-competition rules. The Review Authority will weigh arguments from both sides in October.
Officials insist the road will eventually be built. Transport Minister Alexis Vafeadis says the plan is for a four-lane motorway stretching from Agia Marinouda to Stroumbi, while President Nikos Christodoulides has vowed the government will see the project through.
But skeptics aren’t convinced. The Paphos Chamber of Commerce warns of more appeals and more delays, calling the current situation “expected” given how the contract was terminated. Business leaders fear the road could stay trapped in endless disputes while costs spiral even higher.
For locals in Paphos, the Paphos–Polis motorway has become less a road project than a cautionary tale: a €330 million symbol of bureaucracy, legal wrangling, and missed opportunities, still waiting to be built decades after it was first promised.
