Filenews 16 May 2022 - by Dora Christodoulou
It was considered the project that would change the data and that would help Pafos to "skyrocket" in the tourism and economic sector compared to all other areas of Cyprus. On a practical level, 15 years since those first celebrations, Pafos sees, one after the other, the coastal areas of Cyprus acquiring or launching their own marinas, with it's own still trapped in legal procedures, in conflicts of joint ventures and in changes in state planning that lead nowhere.
For a few days now, the province's institutions have been facing another attempt by the state to "resurrect" the project, creating for the umpteenth time a climate of optimism for overcoming the obstacles that have been recorded for over a decade. "Vehicle" of the new effort to unblock the great project, this time is the mixing of the marina's work with that of an anchorage. Deloitte's study for the combined development of the marina and the anchorage in Paphos, which was announced by the Deputy Ministry of Tourism after the long and fruitless efforts to promote the marina project, was presented last Monday to the competent bodies of the province by the researchers, in the presence of the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Savvas Perdiou.
In his presentation, the contractor scholar analyzed the two options that according to his own study he prefers for implementation. The contractor stressed that under the current circumstances none of the options studied are viable. However, with improvements to the existing local plan, the two options can be made viable and move forward.
In this particular development, the researchers estimate, there are several obstacles such as the existing road network of Kissonerga-Pegeia. The improvement of the existing road network will be a key factor in attracting investors.
According to the president of the Cyprus Association of Great Development and vice-president of the CCCI, Andreas Dimitriadis, it has emerged from the presentation of the results of the study that if the right incentives are given, the combined development is possible and economically viable.
All this will be clarified as expected in the next ten days, he stressed, since the Deputy Minister of Tourism within this time frame will send a copy of the study, so that the provincial bodies will express their suggestions in writing.
"What is emerging," said the president of the Great Development Association, "is that the effort is now directed towards combined development. The cost of the development related to the arrival of cruise ships may be borne by the state and is estimated to be €18 million."
Mr. Dimitriadis also said that this issue is expected to be discussed in the presence of all Pafos stakeholders and MPs and will then submit their proposal to the Deputy Minister of Tourism in the coming days. We expect, he concluded, that immediately afterwards the process for the announcement of international tenders for the construction of the marina and the combined development will begin.
Commenting on these developments on his part, the MP of Pafos of DIKO, Chrysanthos Savvidis, stressed that much remains to be done to achieve this ambitious goal, which is why he recommended a coordinated effort by all the stakeholders of the province.
Having now officially before them a study for the promotion of the marina in relation to a combined project of similar texture, Paphos expects the conclusion of this effort, with optimism being however less than ever due to successive failures over the years.
And this, since the marina was decided in 2006 to be constructed at the location Potima of Kissonerga, on the coastal avenue of Coral Bay and was to be the "flagship" of maritime tourism in Cyprus, with a capacity of 1,000 boats and more than 42,000 square metres of residential and commercial developments.
The first bids were submitted in June 2007 and what has followed since then is now well known: Judicial, legal and business battles, promotion between the marinas of one after the other of the provinces and Paphos to absolute zero.
It was only the beginning of what would follow and which meant that in 2022 no one knows yet when the works for this marina will begin and if the works for this marina will begin.
Vorkas: SeaWalk the right choice
Even before the state, through the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, announced the study that has now been completed, proposals had already begun to be heard in Paphos in recent years for a shift in planning and for the search for more flexible, fast and less "complicated" procedures on the issue of maritime tourism.
Describing as wrong the correlation promoted with the construction of an anchorage in the same area, the Pafos municipal councillor of EDEK, Panagiotis Vorkas, raised the issue of creating a new style instead of a mooring to serve the cruise ships arriving in Paphos: It is, as he points out, a modern type of bellows that fluctuates according to the needs and which is a much more flexible process than the anchorage.
"Cyprus, and in particular Paphos, due to the geographical position of the city closer to the rest of the Mediterranean cruise destinations, currently has a key position in the evolution of cruise tourism", says Mr. Vorkas. "This is becoming more pronounced as a result of the pandemic as a result of which the major international cruise companies have suffered huge damage.
Therefore, these companies will seek to develop new destinations that do not require large passenger terminals or European ports accompanied by high berthing costs. In addition, the companies themselves will not be able to invest in port anchorage-type infrastructure in the coming years, especially after the economic damages suffered by the pandemic crisis."
With this in mind, argues Panagiotis Vorkas, a modern solution already used internationally for the development of new cruise destinations is SeaWalk. It is, he explains, a floating platform 240 metres long and 6 meters wide, with the ability to fold and expand according to the need for mooring.
"The SeaWalk extends from the land and abuts on the side of the ship, right at the point of the passenger exit door," he says. "Such or even a similar solution could be the appropriate choice for the development of cruise ship reception infrastructure in our city and the integration of Paphos into the cruise world.
