The Larnaca Tourism Development and Promotion Company (ETAP) has called on the President of the Republic to intervene personally to speed up works on Phase Three of the Larnaca-Dhekelia coastal road, a project of critical importance for the area’s tourism sector that is now running more than a year behind schedule.
ETAP Larnaca head Dinos Lefkaritis sent a letter to President Nikos Christodoulides, stressing that the delays remain unresolved despite previous assurances and contacts with the competent authorities. He warned that the prolonged delays are already having serious and measurable consequences for the area and for tourism more broadly.
Phase Three of the project covers the tourist zone of Oroklini and extends for roughly three kilometres. Works began in September 2022, with an original contractual completion timeframe of 30 months, meaning the road should have been delivered by March 2025. Instead, the contractor received an extension of more than a year, setting a new completion date of late April 2026.
Despite this extension, Lefkaritis said the current state of the construction site does not reflect even the revised timetable, heightening concerns about further delays.
“Delays can no longer be considered reasonable”
“Despite repeated approaches to the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works, and meetings with the Public Works Department and the contractor, the project remains incomplete on multiple fronts,” Lefkaritis wrote in his letter to the President.
“The delays observed can no longer be considered either reasonable or justified, particularly given the extension already granted to the contractor. The consequences for Larnaca’s tourist area are serious and measurable. Hotel businesses are recording increased cancellations, while tour operators are reluctant to enter into new agreements, as the image of a prolonged construction site severely undermines the area’s profile as a tourist destination.”
He added that the state has already allowed significant additional time for the project to be completed, without achieving the desired result. As a result, he argued, the situation does not allow for further delays or assurances without substance.
ETAP Larnaca is therefore seeking the immediate and personal intervention of the President to ensure the project is accelerated.
A wider problem of public‑works delays
Lefkaritis also linked the Dhekelia road delays to a broader, long‑standing issue. “Unfortunately, the Dhekelia road is not an isolated case. It confirms a persistent and deeply rooted problem of delays, poor planning and inadequate coordination by the responsible departments,” he said.
“This exposes the country and directly burdens the economy. The government must find ways to address serious delays in the implementation of projects. The local community and tourism in Larnaca, and Cyprus more generally, cannot continue to pay the price for these shortcomings.”