Cyprus prison project faces another test over proposed site

After Mathiatis was abandoned, the government is considering state land near Ayios Sozomenos, but that too is proving problematicThe government has spent seven months attempting to resolve where to locate the new central prison, with the project now standing on its third iteration with an expected cost of some €300 million. No one argues with the need for a new prison. The existing one now holds nearly 1,200 prisoners, an occupancy rate of 227.6 per cent, the highest in the EU and more than twice the number the British had intended it for when it was built in 1894. Expanding the decaying Victorian relic at its present site in Ayios Andreas in Nicosia has been ruled out, as has its relocation to Mathiatis after local opposition kicked in and a government reassessment of the site’s suitability. The justice ministry’s eyes are now on state land near Ayios Sozomenos, an abandoned Turkish Cypriot village to the east of Nicosia and near the buffer zone. Apparently a perfect compromise, that site too is proving controversial. Earlier this week, Justice Minister Costas Fitiris presented draft plans for the new prison to the House finance committee. It showed four detention wings, a medical unit, a football pitch, a Christian chapel and a Muslim prayer room. A day later he conceded that the images were in fact produced with AI and were only a “depiction of what the complex could include”. The justice ministry described the rendering as “an indicative illustration, which in no way constitutes the master plan of the project nor does it prejudge its final form or layout”. Fitiris stressed that final decisions would follow environmental and urban planning studies, with the ministry’s next annual budget setting aside €1 million for those studies and preliminary work. From Mathiatis to Ayios Sozomenos The presentation arrived after a difficult autumn for the project. In March the minister announced that the prison would be built on the outskirts of Mathiatis, on state land he said held “no known antiquities” and was “not classified as forest”. Mathiatis community leader Theodoros Tsatsos, who later came to support the project despite initial opposition, said the ministry “was in a hurry to announce it” and that residents had not been fully briefed. Fitiris said the location had been presented to the community and there was “no objection to the construction”. Tsatsos countered that the community had not agreed and that its decision would depend on how the ministry answered a set of preconditions covering the environment, archaeological sites, farms and local income. The existing prison was built in 1894 In September the Mathiatis historical and environmental heritage protection group decried the proposal as “unacceptable” on environmental, ecological, archaeological and planning grounds. Not every Mathiatis resident shared the group’s view of the site. Gregoris Paschalides said the heritage committee’s objections did not reflect where the prison would have stood. “The prison was going to be away from the forested area, it was barren land essentially,” he said. “My main concern was actually security, the site would have improved infrastructure and business for sure, and roads could at least be maintained. But the idea of hardened criminals’ associates visiting or being in the area was my objection. It just wasn’t safe,” he said. Days later the ministry surrendered, with Fitiris announcing that Mathiatis had been set aside due to “the very high financial cost” and as the site lacked the infrastructure such a project required. As an alternative location, he decided that Ayios Sozomenos would be better suited to the task, already possessing roads, water, electricity and sewage connections. Municipalities question suitability of new site The Ecologist Movement said the land lies within the Natura 2000 network of protected areas and argued that the departure of its Turkish Cypriot residents did not make it “no man’s land” for vast projects carried out without proper planning. Akel called for studies and consultation with local authorities, saying the government had changed the location without sufficient attention to either. The municipalities of South Nicosia-Idalion and Latsia-Yeri, the former in which the site now lies in its boundary and the latter which adjoins, requested for the decision to be reversed. The remains of Turkish Cypriot houses in the village (Christos Theodorides) Speaking to the Sunday Mail, South Nicosia-Idalion mayor Stavros Hadjiyiannis set out the municipality’s case in detail. He explained that the wider area in question already contains two large wastewater treatment plants, one run by the Nicosia EOA and one by the state, along with a private facility treating livestock waste. There are also two sand quarries, three pig farms and several other livestock units. A 132 kV overhead line operated by the EAC crosses the area, and its planning zones include livestock zones where pig farms are permitted. On that basis, Hadjiyiannis said, the municipality considers that the site as it stands “is not suitable for the construction of the new prison facility”. He stressed that this does not prejudge the outcome of the studies, which must include an environmental impact assessment, and that the municipality is “not prejudging the results” or rejecting every possibility from the outset. His second concern is the livestock sector, for the state plot at Ayios Sozomenos was originally intended for a livestock zone run by the agriculture ministry, designed to move farms away from the edges of residential areas in Dali and Nisou. “Livestock units close to homes in both communities cannot continue indefinitely,” he said. If the studies confirm the site is suitable for a prison, the state must secure another site for the livestock zone concurrently, calling that a “non-negotiable condition” for the municipality’s agreement to any change in the existing plans. Hadjiyiannis said Fitiris had agreed that both municipalities would be informed at every stage and invited to submit views. The South Nicosia-Idalion municipality has written to the ministry setting out its reservations and its position on compensation measures and benefits for the community, and is awaiting a reply. It seeks active dialogue “rather than a process in which we are simply informed of decisions that have already been made”. Not every resident of the area shares the municipality’s alarm, for Savvas Polykarpou, a Dali resident and landowner, told the Sunday Mail that “Sozomenos is a considerable distance away from the town, as long as the churches aren’t affected, it’s of little worry where they set up.” Heritage sites and buffer zone The ministry has likewise sought to answer such heritage concerns, for after a meeting between Fitiris and Deputy Culture Minister Clea Hadjistefanou-Papaellina in September, the government confirmed infrastructure would be confined to the northern sector of the state plot, at a distance from the archaeological remains. These include a Byzantine cave chapel, the unfinished Latin church of Saint Mamas and mud brick remains of homes left by Turkish Cypriot residents who fled following intercommunal violence. The deputy culture ministry confirmed its agreement with the direction presented and said it would keep working with the antiquities department as the master plan develops. The unfinished Latin church of Saint Mamas at Ayios Sozomenos (Christos Theodorides) A source close to the justice ministry pointed to a further reason for favouring the location, as the site lies beside the buffer zone the prison infrastructure would create a stronger barrier and bring a heavier police presence along the Green Line, which is particularly susceptible to smuggling and incursions in the Sozomenos area. Fitiris has said the plans will go to the affected municipalities so they can give their views, and that the aim is to find “the golden mean” for all parties. He estimated construction would take four to five years, with works due to begin by the end of next year. Among those living beside the existing prison, the prospect of a neighbour of that kind draws little alarm. George Kontopyrgos, a resident of the desirable Ayios Andreas neighbourhood which lies next to the prisons, commented that “it’s a charming neighbourhood and I have always felt very safe raising my family here. I’ve been here for 30 years and genuinely do not think wherever they decide to put the new prison will prove too problematic”.