The proposal to purchase a new armoured vehicle for the President of the Republic and high-ranking official visitors was based on objective and technical criteria, as well as an assessment of the needs and condition of existing government vehicles, the Electromechanical Services Department (ESD) has said.
The department issued a statement following reports concerning a request to release funding for the proposed purchase.
Department says assessment followed standard procedure
According to the ESD, the recommendation to purchase the armoured vehicle followed an assessment of the needs and condition of the existing official vehicles used to transport the President and high-ranking official visitors.
The department said the same evaluation process is applied in all cases involving the procurement of official vehicles for the needs of the public service.
The process, it added, falls within the department’s remit and complies with the provisions of the Regulations on Official Vehicles in the State and Wider Public Sector, KDP 504/2014.
€595,000 allocation for new armoured limousine
The Finance Ministry wrote to Parliament on 24 August 2026 requesting the release of €595,000 in funding for the purchase of a new armoured limousine for the Presidency. The letter was classified as confidential.
According to the information provided, the new vehicle would feature modern security and technological systems and would be used for the transport of President Nikos Christodoulides, as well as heads of state visiting Cyprus.
The ESD said procurement procedures would begin once the Parliamentary Committee on Financial and Budgetary Affairs has been informed and gives its consent.
The vehicle is expected to be delivered within 12 months of the start of the relevant procedures.
Christodoulides calls disclosure deliberate
President Nikos Christodoulides has also commented on the proposed purchase, describing the disclosure of the information from Parliament as deliberate.
Christodoulides said he had not been aware of the proposed purchase and argued that the publication of the information was intended to damage him politically.
The decision to purchase a new armoured limousine was reportedly taken by the Transport Ministry through the Electromechanical Services Department, while funding for the purchase was approved by the Council of Ministers on 16 July 2026.
Christodoulides reiterated that the disclosure amounted to a deliberate leak and said such actions undermined confidence in public life.
He also warned that such practices could ultimately have negative consequences for those responsible for them.
