"THE LIOPETRI RIVER DIED, THEY DESTROYED IT''. NOTHING REMINDS OF THE PICTURESQUE FISHING SHELTER ANYMORE - ANGER AT THE PROJECT THAT IS A CONSTRUCTION SITE FOR THE SIXTH YEAR - Filenews 18/4 by Natasa Christoforou
A patchwork of feelings of sadness, rage and shame overwhelm anyone who visits the Liopetri River today. It is not only the unacceptable fact that the site is a construction site for the sixth year. Nor the irrefutable fact that professionals were destroyed, constituting the collateral damage of the state's inability to ensure that another project will be completed on time. It is also the realization that one of the most beautiful and picturesque places in Cyprus has been lost once and for all. Only the ghost of the river Liopetri remained, to haunt us.
"F" was in the area and recorded images and statements from professionals, as well as local authorities. Everyone we spoke to has the same opinion: that such a project should not have been done in that area. "The river died, they destroyed it...", fisherman Spyros Zambas, one of the few professionals who remained in the area, told us bluntly. The rest dispersed to other fishing shelters, waiting for the quays to run out to return. "Here was a beautiful natural environment, people came and saw it. Now they destroyed it. It has been six years old and not even half of it is finished. When will it end?", he wondered, adding that "I am 75 years old and I do not think that I will not see the project finished". In a remark that some fishermen had asked for the work to be done in the area, he replied that it was not everyone's place. "A portion was asking for it, the majority of us did not want it," he noted.
"The river was much more beautiful, there was no need for this kind of change. Some pedestrian streets were needed for people to walk, for the area to be illuminated, but that's about it. Now it has lost its picturesqueness. People would come to our restaurant and see something they couldn't see anywhere else. It was the only place in Cyprus that remained traditional and picturesque," said Margarita Nicolaou. Her family is one of the biggest victims of the project, since for five years she has not been able to open her restaurant, which has been operating since 1963. The restaurant employed 30 people and 10 families lived on it, as he says. "We were told that a condition for the provision of aid is to open. It is a pity that no one came to help us open. Where will we find money to make a loan like this?", she wondered. She also added that even if her family could afford to renovate, they would not be able to open because the area around the restaurant is a construction site. "How can we go and work with such a situation?", she added.
In the same vein, the president of the community of Liopetri, Markos Koumi, who noted that he receives complaints from residents about the image of the river. Although he states that he is satisfied with the fact that, after the termination of the contractor's contract, the project has now entered the implementation process, he indicates that "as it was, the river was more beautiful". "It was the most picturesque fishing shelter that the whole world loved and adored. We feel a little disappointed with the design," he noted. Clarifying that the delay "is due to the previous contractor", he expressed the hope that the projects will be completed in two years.
Following the termination of the contract, the Department of Town Planning and Housing initiated procedures for the partial completion of the project. However, as can be seen from the answer given to "F", it is unknown when it will finally be completed.
The works were divided into three stages and so far the first has been completed (July 2025), which concerned the completion of the road network (cobblestone), in order to give access to the fishermen and passage to the two restaurants. The project cost €469,000 + VAT.
The second stage concerns the construction of quays, with the aim of returning all professional fishermen. Initially, the project was estimated at €2,150,000 and when the tender was not successful, it was announced second with almost double the budget. As stated by the Department of Urban Planning, "the start of the construction works took place on 26/2/2026, with a contractual duration of four months for Section A (Platforms K3, K4 and K5) to enable the return of professional fishermen and twelve months for Section B (remaining 15 quays) from the start of the project".
The third stage concerns the completion of the project, i.e., the completion of the buildings (Entrance Kiosk, Bicycle Parking Canopy, Fishing and Fish Sorting Training Center), the parking areas, the pedestrian bridge ("bridge" of the river), the land warehouses, the road, the pedestrian and bicycle path (to and from the quays), while landscaping is also included.
Scandalous management
The redevelopment project of the Liopetri River started in 2020 and was supposed to be delivered in March 2023. However, despite the successive extensions given, it was never completed, as a result of which in November 2024 the Ministry of the Interior terminated the contract of both the contractor and the engineer of the project.
The management of the project was scandalous and this is not only evident from the delays, but also from the findings of the Audit Office that identified, among other things, poor workmanship. The former Auditor General had warned the previous government since April 2022, even asking for the examination of the termination of the contract. The issue was brought back by the new Auditor General, who on November 8, 2024, in a memorandum, had proposed the termination of the contract and blamed the Department of Urban Planning as well. As it was established, the cost of the project, which had an initial estimate of €8.1 million skyrocketed by €2 million. And this without taking into account the additional costs that will arise from the completion procedures of the project.
