Filenews 26 June 2025 - by Chrysanthos Manoli
The company Power Energy Cyprus (PEC), of the Cyfield group, is facing very big troubles in its attempt to legalize retrospectively facilities that fall under its privately owned -unfinished- power plant in Vassiliko, as well as the water pumping station on the coast of Vassilikos.
Information from the Liberal states that the Urban Planning Authority sent on 4/3/25 a Notice of Enforcement to the PEC and its director, inviting them "to stop any construction or other work for the construction (completion) of the power plant and to proceed immediately with the submission of a new urban planning application, in order to consider the possibility of granting a new urban planning permit".
- In addition, the information of the Liberal Party states that the Urban Planning Authority sent an Enforcement Notice to PEC (4/3/25) for the pumping station and the seawater pumping pipelines, which the company is constructing in Vassilikos.
With the Enforcement Notice, PEC was asked to stop any construction or other work and within 30 days to proceed with the demolition of all arbitrary buildings – constructions and the restoration of the plots to their original state.
As reported by the Urban Planning Authority, there was no prior assurance by PEC of the legal permits for the pumping station, nor the consent and authorization (lease agreement) of the owners of the state and Turkish Cypriot plots within which the pumping station is being constructed or the pipelines passing. We remind you that the plot within which PEC constructs the pumping station has been leased to EAC for many years.
The company's reaction
According to the written briefing of the Director General of the Ministry of the Interior, Elikkos Ilias to the co-competent Authorities (dated 3/6/2025), PEC submitted on 19/5/25 a hierarchical appeal to the Minister of the Interior, against the decision of the Urban Planning Authority to serve an Enforcement Notice for the termination of the works at the power plant.
Earlier, on 20/3/25, the company submitted an application for a re-granting of a planning permit for the station. The application is under study, but the positions of the competent Authorities and services are pending.
- As far as the pumping station is concerned, the Urban Planning Authority rejected PEC's application (it was submitted on 26/1/24) for a planning permit, since the necessary lease agreements for the infrastructure and pipelines were not submitted, while in addition, the development presents other essential problems, according to the Ministry of Environment.
- According to Mr. Ilias, "the lease of state or Turkish Cypriot plots in Vassiliko (ed. for their use for the construction of the pumping station) has still not been secured (ed. by PEC), nor has the consent of EAC, to which the part of the state plot no. 558, in which the pumping station was arbitrarily erected".
EAC, in a letter dated 7/4/25, informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the reasons why it objects to the granting of a planning permit for the pumping station.
On 19/5/25 the PEC submitted to the Minister of the Interior a Hierarchical Appeal against the Notice of Enforcement, which had requested the demolition of all illegal developments for the pumping station.
As the Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs mentions in his letter, "the Urban Planning Authority informed the District Authority of Larnaca on 25/4/25 of the above, as the competent building authority, and requested that it proceed with the adoption of all necessary measures for the removal of the arbitrary constructions, taking into account that the development has already been implemented arbitrarily on site".
The license for the station is inactive
With regard to the power plant, the Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Elikos Ilias, informed the co-competent services and authorities in writing the following:
"The planning permit with no. LAR/0286/2013, which concerned only the construction of the power plant (ed. of PEC) became inactive, since it expired on 13/3/2024 and essential terms of the permit and the agreement between the Urban Planning Authority and the company were not implemented. As the works carried out on site", the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs points out, "do not comply with or differ substantially from the plans approved with the aforementioned planning permit, the Urban Planning Authority (...) sent a Notice of Enforcement to the company and its manager, calling on them to stop any construction or other work (...)".
