Filenews 11 February 2026 - by Eleftheria Paizanou
On the one hand, the Government assures that the natural gas terminal in Vasilikos will be completed, on the other hand, it does not take a position on the delivery schedule of the project. The members of the parliamentary Energy Committee did not receive clear answers yesterday on the next steps on the construction site, despite the many questions they asked.
Energy Minister Michalis Damianos said that the completion of the project is a one-way street, repeatedly avoiding to give any timetable. As he said, the French company Technip, which has taken on an advisory role for the future of the project and carried out a study, is not in a position to determine a specific implementation time.
The avoidance of listing timetables seems to be linked to the Government's effort not to repeat past practices, when estimates had been given for the promotion of the project that were ultimately not implemented, causing strong criticism from the parties. According to the minister, the fact is that the project will continue from the point where the previous contractor left it, after new offers are previously announced to find a contractor. However, it is not clear when tenders will be announced either.
They did not disclose the extension
More specific information on the next moves was given by the vice president of ETYFA and president of the EAC, Giorgos Petrou, who stated that the state should proceed with a bidding process for a new contractor. Technip has already delivered the gap analysis, which is being examined by ETYFA.
However, 24 hours earlier, Mr. Petrou had stated, participating in a session of the Parliament's Finance Committee, that the French company had requested a six-month extension for the second stage of the agreement. The first stage concerned the delivery of the analysis that records the gaps of the project, while the second concerns suggestions on how to continue it, without the preparation of a new technical study, which will require a lot of time.
According to the vice president of ETYFA, the organization's engineers have studied the gap analysis and final decisions are expected to be made. From these positions, it appears that there are some developments which, so far, have not been made public by the government.
The interstate agreement with the Emirates
The Minister of Energy assured the MPs that no other studies are being prepared by the ministry for alternative natural gas import options, but acknowledged that there are unofficial proposals from other bodies for the arrival of natural gas in Cyprus. He stressed, however, that any differentiation in planning would lead to a greater delay compared to the continuation of the project in its current form.
Referring to the interest of a company from the United Arab Emirates to be involved in the project, Mr. Damianos reiterated that ETYFA must proceed with offers. Asked if the possible involvement of the Emirates will be through an interstate agreement, he replied that the relevant discussions are at an early stage.
Plus €35 million for Consultants
While the project remains at an impasse, the state has spent €35 million on consultancy services (€10 million for Technip and €25 million for legal, technical and other consultants). At the same time, the process of returning €67 million, that Cyprus had received from the European Union for the terminal, to the EU has begun. On behalf of the Ministry of Finance, Dionysis Dionysiou stated that the amount will be returned through offsetting with funds that the country would receive for other purposes, mainly through the Recovery Plan.
As he explained, instead of Cyprus receiving, for example, €100 million for one project, it will receive €33 million, with the remaining €67 million to be offset. He assured, however, that specific projects of the Recovery Plan, from which the country was expected to receive a total of €1.2 billion, by the end of 2026 will not be affected.
The Minister of Energy stated that the recovery procedures of the €67 million. are ongoing, with the aim of repaying the full amount through offsets. The president of ETYFA, Giorgos Asikalis, stated that the CINEA organization itself decided to return the €67 million for three reasons related to the way the project was awarded and managed by previous governments. He also noted that, after the shipwreck with the last contractor, no drawings, certifications and specifications were delivered to ETYFA, although the materials may be suitable.
The data was provided
A different picture was presented by the supervising engineer of the project, who stated that all the materials received were in accordance with the specifications and that the relevant certificates were delivered to ETYFA. As he said, some certificates were not given because the contractor had not completed payments to suppliers, with the understanding that they would be delivered upon completion of the project. He referred to two scenarios for safer, more economical and faster completion, including the continuation of the pier with the existing contractor and the promotion of land projects with fast track procedures.
New report by the Audit Office
A spokesman for the Audit Office said that a new audit process has begun for the project and a special report is expected to be issued.
Last month, data were requested from the Ministry of Energy and ETYFA for the Vasilikos terminal, the ship "Prometheus", the maintenance, the certifications for liquefied gas regasification, the studies and the consulting services purchased.
"Hatzigiannis tears up the passport"
The reaction of the MPs was once again intense. The chairman of the Energy Committee and DISY MP, Kyriakos Hatzigiannis, described the management of the project as a fiasco, stating that he is "tearing his passport" so that he does not live in Cyprus. He argued that DEFA is unable to complete the project and that taxpayers are burdened with €1 million per day.
AKEL MP Costas Costa spoke of an ongoing scandal, noting that taxpayers paid €35 million for consultants and €470,000 for the stay of the "Prometheus" at anchorage in Malaysia. He also warned that in the event of the defeat of the Republic in the legal dispute, the cost could increase by €200 million.
