The tender process for the Paphos marina is expected to be completed at the end of 2024, at which time the successful bidder will be known.
Giorgos Mais, the president of the Paphos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EVE Paphos), clarified that the procedures regarding the submission of bids for the consultancy services for the project have been completed.
Mais said that if no objections were made by the end of April 2024, the appraisal and awarding of the bid is expected to proceed, after which the tender documents will be prepared.
By the end of 2024, the tendering process should be concluded, and the successful investor will be known.
Despite long delays and setbacks, Mais emphasized that the Paphos marina is of utmost importance to the area.
It is expected to enhance the tourism product, bolster nautical tourism, and support the other marinas in Cyprus.
Mais revealed that he had recently communicated with the President, who assured him that the procedures would be expedited and that the Deputy Ministry of Tourism and the government in general will do whatever is necessary to move the project forward as soon as possible, since as Nikos Christodoulides pointed out, it’s part the state’s strategy for tourism.
Three financial organisations have submitted bids for consultancy services for the Paphos marina project in the Potima bay area of Kissonerga.
Once the consultancy organisation has been selected, they will be responsible for preparing the tender documents, to find a strategic investor for the project.
Paphos marina – the long and winding road
Since an initial study was carried out more than 30 years ago, the Paphos marina project has been stalled by bureaucracy and legal battles:
The tender for the marina was first announced in 2007 and since then has faced numerous delays and objections from vying consortium and companies.
In 2008 the project was awarded to the Pandora Group (Leptos) following a hotly contested bidding process with Aristo and Pafilia.
But Aristo, the runner-up in the contest, objected to the award alleging irregularities in the submission of documents required for the tendering process.
Aristo’s objection was upheld and a committee was set up to examine the situation. Subsequently Pandora’s contract was annulled and the contract to build the marina was awarded to Aristo.
Pandora then decided to take the matter to the Supreme Court on several legal grounds. It claimed that it was not consulted during the revision procedures where their initial tender was re-examined.
In December 2015 the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Poseidon Grand Marina of Paphos, a joint-venture in which Aristo was a major stakeholder – Poseidon were subsequently awarded the contract in May 2016.
But although it had won the legal battle the Poseidon consortium failed to supply adequate evidence of its ability to finance the project and Pafilia, which was next on the list of tenders, was asked to provide evidence that it could fund the construction and running of the marina.
Poseidon appealed to the Supreme Court that the committee responsible for overseeing the Paphos marina tender process was unlawful – and in January 2018 their appeal was upheld.
In 2018 the Council of Ministers appointed a ‘new’ Marina Management Committee to examine documents submitted as part of the marina tender process and has just awarded the contract to Pafilia.
But in October 2018, Pafilia decided to withdraw its interest.
The government announced a new tender in 2021.
Authorities had picked a winner, but the process was challenged once more in the courts by Ernst/Young Cyprus, and the project was put on ice.
The Cyprus Tender Review Committee later rejected the appeal.
The tender was awarded to a consortium of Deloitte Ltd and Triton Consulting Engineers SA, who were tasked with preparing the related study.
Construction was expected to start at the end of 2021, but the project never took off the ground.
If and when the Paphos marina is built, it’s expected to have a capacity of 1,000 berths. The project will take approximately three years to be completed. In addition to berthing for 1,000 vessels, the project will include more than 42,000 square metres of residential and commercial developments.
