A fierce dispute over the proposed new Legal Service building in 2023 has now taken on a considerably more expensive dimension.
The project, then estimated at €45 million excluding VAT, has returned three years later with a budget of €68 million excluding VAT. This represents an increase of €23 million, or approximately 51%.
Including VAT at 19%, the total estimated cost has risen from €53.55 million in 2023 to around €80.92 million today, a difference of €27.37 million.
The new tender was announced by the Ministry of Transport on 11 September 2026. It covers the design, construction and 12-year maintenance of an 11-storey building with a minimum total area of 23,410 square metres.
Of this, 16,010 square metres will be above ground, while 7,400 square metres will be divided between two underground levels. Work is scheduled to begin in April 2027, with the design and construction period set at 48 months.
The project halted in 2023
The plan considered by the government in 2023 was strikingly similar to the project now being put out to tender again.
It involved a building covering approximately 23,300 square metres, including 15,300 square metres across 11 above-ground levels and around 8,000 square metres on two underground levels. Its capacity was estimated at approximately 400 employees.
The preliminary cost had been set at €45 million plus VAT. According to project architect Eleni Pattichi, the amount included movable furniture and 12 years of building maintenance.
In September 2023, however, then Auditor-General Odysseas Michaelides intervened strongly, raising a series of concerns and recommending that the process be cancelled.
Among other points, he questioned whether a building designed for 400 employees was justified when, according to him, the Legal Service had 193 permanent posts in the 2023 state budget.
He calculated that the capital cost, including VAT, amounted to €133,875 for each projected employee.
The size of some offices and communal areas, the need for certain facilities, the height of the building and the wider justification for the building programme also came under scrutiny.
The Audit Office also raised issues concerning environmental licensing and whether alternative accommodation options had been adequately considered.
The response from the Legal Service and architects
The Auditor-General’s objections prompted a strong reaction from both the Legal Service and the project’s architects.
Attorney-General George Savvides argued that the specifications had not been prepared by the Legal Service but by the competent Public Works Department. He also accused Michaelides of making his positions public before receiving responses from the relevant authorities.
The Audit Office replied that it had not leaked the letter in question and described the Attorney-General’s response as an “undisguised attack”.
Project architect Eleni Pattichi was also highly critical. She said the building programme had been determined by the Public Works Department, while the architectural proposal deviated from the specified area by just 0.08%.
She also stressed that the €45 million price included furniture and maintenance for 12 years. Pattichi objected strongly to the fact that the concerns were raised after time and resources had already been spent on the architectural and construction tenders.
The tender’s cancellation
The tender was cancelled on 29 September 2023.
The government’s official explanation did not attribute the decision to Michaelides’ allegations or recommendations. The Ministry of Transport cited limited fiscal capacity and the need for prudent management of public finances, while several other major public building projects were also being reviewed at the time.
However, the Audit Office’s intervention had preceded the cancellation and turned the project into a major subject of public dispute.
From €45m to €56m and now €68m
The project was not abandoned. It returned to the government’s plans in 2025, this time with an estimated cost of €56 million plus VAT.
The revised proposal continued to concern a multi-storey building for approximately 400 employees and was similar in size to the design that had prompted objections in 2023.
By September 2026, the estimated cost had risen to €68 million excluding VAT.
The figures show the progression clearly:
- 2023: €45 million excluding VAT
- 2025: €56 million excluding VAT
- 2026: €68 million excluding VAT
The estimated cost has therefore increased by €23 million before VAT in just three years.
The core of the project, however, remains essentially unchanged. In 2023, the plans concerned a building of approximately 23,300 square metres for around 400 employees. The current tender provides for a minimum area of 23,410 square metres and still aims to bring the Legal Service’s departments together in a new multi-storey complex.
Three years later, the government is therefore returning to a project of a similar size and concept, but with a price tag that is €23 million higher before VAT, or €27.37 million higher when VAT is included.
The central question is what the state ultimately saved by cancelling the project in 2023 and how much the three-year delay has cost.
By Kritonas Kapsalis
