Boat mooring facility delays trace back to 1994, audit finds

Local audit officeTop News Boat mooring facility delays trace back to 1994, audit finds Boat Mooring Facility Delays Trace Back To 1994, Audit Finds Relevant News Limassol food delivery driver pulled from car, beaten and robbed of €1,800 8 July 2026 China lifts fuel export curbs for July, sources say 8 July 2026 Boat mooring facility delays trace back to 1994, audit finds 8 July 2026 Newsroom 8 July 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber The Audit Office has identified significant delays in implementing projects for recreational boat mooring facilities, alongside delays and non-payment of the annual fee, with the problems appearing to date back to the very first decisions taken in 1994, after which significant legislative gaps emerged despite the adoption of the underlying strategy. The Audit Office’s special report, published today, points to serious weaknesses in the procedures for securing management licences for boat mooring facilities, as well as in the collection of the annual fee from licence holders. According to the Audit Office, legislative regulation will be needed to resolve the problem. Wrong from the start, in 1994 In 1994, the Council of Ministers decided on a strategy for developing marine tourism in Cyprus, setting a unified maritime zone and designating marinas of different scales. The zone includes five large marinas, in Larnaca, Limassol, Paphos, Agia Napa and Paralimni, one medium-scale marina, St. Raphael, and small-scale marinas offering limited services. However, a legislative gap emerged for the small-scale mooring facilities, which was eventually corrected in 2007 through regulations on the licensing and operation of boat mooring facilities, since such facilities, unlike marinas, are not official points of entry into the Republic of Cyprus, have smaller vessel capacity and do not include residential developments. In effect, the development of small recreational boat mooring facilities was significantly delayed, even though the Council of Ministers had adopted the relevant marine tourism strategy back in 1994, with the corresponding law only passed in 2007. The delay related mainly to the need to amend property legislation, so that land reclaimed from the sea could be registered as state land and leased out for the projects to proceed. Decrees followed in 2015 and 2022, setting licensing criteria, while responsibility for advancing the projects was transferred to the Deputy Ministry of Tourism in 2019. According to the report, the process remains bureaucratic, requiring the submission of studies, evaluation by a competent committee, publication of the application, Council of Ministers approval, securing of planning and building permits, and the signing of a state land lease contract. Although six marine sites were declared boat mooring facilities in 2018–2019, implementation of the projects depends on completion of all these procedures and licensing steps, which the report says has not yet happened. The report also identifies a separate problem requiring legislative regulation, concerning payment of the annual fee. Audit Office: immediate legislative intervention needed The Audit Office found that the delays, beyond preventing the facilities from being built, are also causing further problems. According to the report, the marine sites in question remain reserved for long periods, depriving the state of the ability to use them for other purposes of public interest, while the imposition and payment of the annual fee by the economic operators undertaking the projects does not appear to be satisfied to the extent it should be. The Audit Office has called on the state to proceed with legislative regulation of the matter. Specifically, according to the report, the lengthy delays in licensing and implementing the mooring facilities mean that public marine areas remain reserved for years without being used for other purposes of public interest. At the same time, licence holders may derive financial benefit without paying the annual fee before the projects become operational. The Law Office found that imposing a fee at this stage could be considered excessively onerous or even unconstitutional, meaning legislative regulation is required for a reduced fee during the licensing period. However, no such bill has yet been advanced. The Audit Office also recommends clear consequences for unjustified delays, including the possibility of revoking licences or forfeiting sites where licence holders fail to meet their obligations and timetables. Specifically, of the six sites declared in 2018–2019, three applicants never paid the required fees and never secured a management licence. In another case, the fee was paid for only two years, while in the two remaining cases payment was made once, to allow the licences to be issued and then transferred to other economic operators. The Audit Office notes that these transfers show that the licences can acquire financial value even though the projects have not yet become operational. It should be noted that the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, responding to the Audit Office, said the draft bill was completed in November 2025 and forwarded in January 2026, but that consultation and legal-technical review were still pending. It added that the delays are also linked to difficulties in securing individual permits and specialised studies, such as environmental, geological and coastal engineering assessments. Where the mooring facilities are located The six sites selected for recreational boat mooring facilities are located in the following areas, with the economic operators responsible for their implementation: Muskita Holdings Ltd — Alaminos, Larnaca Leptos Calypso Hotels Public Ltd — Peyia, Paphos Venus Rock Estates Ltd — Ha Potami, Kouklia, Paphos The Sunset Boulevard Tourist & Estate Company Ltd / Actinolite Ltd — Pachyammos, Kato Paphos Alpha Panareti Public Ltd / Agi-Cypre Property 16 Ltd — Softades, Kiti, Larnaca M. Afxentiou & A. 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