It has been a decade since serious debate began over the Limassol of tomorrow and the need for a holistic, modern urban plan. As early as 2014, the first masterplans for Aktaia Avenue were drafted, with the ambitious promise that “between the old and new port, the new Limassol will be built."
The area, covering some half a million square metres south of Franklin Roosevelt Avenue, has long served as an industrial zone. Landmark properties once belonging to Limassol’s historic wineries; SODAP, LOEL, Lanitis and others, have since been sold to investors, with the KEO factory remaining the only exception. Alongside them stands the Karnagio shipyard, the city’s last working boatyard, which is now widely seen as incompatible with Limassol’s new waterfront ambitions.
A forest of towers on the horizon
The 'Limassol City Centre Area Plan,' published in January 2023, allows for building coefficients of up to 300% and towers of up to 30 floors, or 120 metres. Simulations suggest the area could host 30 to 40 high-rises, accommodating as many as 20,000 residents or users. Development would stretch for 1.7 kilometres along the coastline and extend inland towards Roosevelt Avenue.
The plan includes incentives for developers to allocate up to 20% of their plots for green space, restore preserved industrial buildings and provide large parking facilities. Yet the influx of thousands of vehicles appears at odds with the broader urban principle of reducing car traffic in city centres.
Road or promenade?
At the heart of the debate lies the redesign of Aktaia Avenue itself. Current provisions envisage a mixed-use corridor: a section of low-traffic road with cycle paths, plazas and bus-only lanes, and another as a four-lane primary road. But momentum is building behind calls to ban cars altogether and create a wide waterfront promenade, echoing Limassol’s existing pier.
The municipality’s first steps
Work on the ground is already visible. The municipality has almost completed a new coastal pedestrian and cycling path, stretching roughly one kilometre from the marina to Alexandrias Street. It is the first tangible move to ensure the avenue does not become another traffic artery but instead a space for leisure and access, in line with Mayor Giannis Armeftis’s pre-election pledge.
In parallel, extensive clean-up operations removed piles of debris, illegal structures and abandoned vessels. A 300-metre stretch of beach in front of the KEO factory has also been reclaimed, creating a new public shoreline where access had long been blocked.
Looking ahead
The next phase involves connecting the walkway to the new port by means of a wooden pedestrian bridge over the Garyllis River. In time, the path will extend all the way to the port’s passenger terminal. An architectural competition is also on the cards to determine the avenue’s final design and uses.
Meanwhile, the municipality has signed an agreement with the Cyprus Marine & Maritime Institute (CMMI) to survey the seabed along 1.5 km of coastline, reaching 500 metres out to sea. The study aims to assess the extent of decades of industrial waste and chart a future clean-up, making the sea safe once more for swimming.
The shipyard dilemma
Yet the Karnagio shipyard remains the thorniest issue. The municipality has pressed the government for a timetable for its relocation, but the Ministry of Interior has replied that no such timetable can be set. A Legal Service opinion further stressed that the Republic “bears no obligation to provide an alternative site for relocation, nor to pay compensation” to the affected businesses.
The complication lies in the fact that the land is reclaimed ground, neither officially state nor private, meaning most of the existing facilities are technically illegal. The businesses themselves insist relocation must still be to a seafront site if they are to survive.