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The Auditor General’s latest report on public construction projects (see the previous story by Kathimerini's Apostolos Tomaras) has confirmed what many in Cyprus already suspected: major public works are often delayed, and a small number of contractors dominate the market.
The audit looked at 2,164 contracts worth €2.5 billion between 2015 and 2024. It found limited competition, a narrow pool of contractors, and repeated collaborations with companies that may not always meet deadlines. In some cases, large projects have taken years longer than planned or remain incomplete, with the state relying mostly on financial penalties to enforce compliance.
A prominent example is the New Cyprus Archaeological Museum, where the contractor, Cyfield, requested an extension of 500 days to complete the project. Cyfield said the extension requests are due to technical challenges, strikes at concrete plants, extreme weather, and unforeseen excavation work, and that all requests are under review by state authorities.
The Auditor General also pointed out market concentration as a major concern. From 2015 to 2024, three companies, Cyfield, Iacovou, and Cybarco, secured 40.8% of the total value of public works, while 80% of contracts by number went to smaller firms, though these accounted for just 39% of the contract value. The average delay across all public projects was 461 days.
The report highlighted examples of ongoing delays, including the Paphos-Polis road, the Nicosia Ring Road, and Larnaca Port redevelopment. At Paphos-Polis, a legal appeal by the contractor Aktor has held up bidding for more than two months. The second phase of the Nicosia Ring Road is now underway, with Cyfield and Iacovou awarded the contract.
The Auditor General’s report serves as a warning to the government about the current framework for public works, which critics say allows contractors to repeatedly miss deadlines without major consequences. Government sources, however, told KNEWS there are no plans to revise the framework at this stage.
Cyfield responded to the report, emphasizing that claims of a 17-year extension on the Nicosia Ring Road are inaccurate. The company said extensions are due to legitimate technical and operational challenges and highlighted its decades-long contribution to major infrastructure projects in Cyprus.
