Limassol chamber: state budget gives city ‘too little’ in major projects

The chamber of commerce’s Limassol branch (Evel) has criticised next year’s state budget, saying only three of its main infrastructure projects concern the city. According to the chamber, the three projects have a combined value of about €57 million, within a list of schemes costing roughly €1.5 billion. That represents 3.8 per cent of the total. The chamber said this “raises concerns regarding the criteria” used to set state priorities and whether the needs of each province are taken into account. Evel described Limassol as “the most important pillar of the Cypriot economy” and a decisive contributor to gross domestic product. It said the city “cannot play a leading role” in economic development while remaining “a secondary priority in public investments”. The chamber said this was the latest year in which the city had not received the priority its economic weight justified. The statement argued that Limassol’s growth could not rest only on private investment. Public infrastructure was needed, it said, to support business competitiveness and quality of life. Where such infrastructure was missing, the chamber said, productivity suffered and costs rose for businesses and residents. The budget figures sit against two decades in which private capital has been directed heavily towards Limassol. Land registry data show the district recorded 4,860 sale contracts in the first nine months of 2026, against 4,156 a year earlier, an increase of 17 per cent. That is about a third of the 14,969 contracts filed nationwide and makes it the country’s largest property market. Limassol alone accounted for 704 of the 1,796 additional contracts recorded across Cyprus. Sales to buyers from outside the EU rose 45 per cent in the district in September compared with a year earlier. Residential prices nationally rose 8.5 per cent year on year in the second quarter, according to the Central Bank, which attributed the increase mainly to foreign demand. Private projects in the pipeline are also concentrated in the district, such as the Limassol Mall, estimated at €95 million and approved by the cabinet in July, and a €40 million GEMS international school at Pyrgos. It also includes a Yael Foundation Hebrew school representing more than €50 million, planned to open in 2027, and the AURA residential tower on the waterfront, where construction is expected to begin next year. Paphos recorded 2,999 contracts over the nine months, up 18 per cent from 2,531, the strongest percentage growth of any district. Larnaca reached 3,291, up 15 per cent, and posted the strongest September, with a 29 per cent rise. Together, Limassol and Paphos accounted for just over 65 per cent of the national increase. Public projects in the city have moved more slowly, with the proposed shore-side electricity system at Limassol port yet to reach the grid connection stage. Transport Minister Evi Tsolaki said a request for land for a substation had been submitted, but applications to the transmission operator had not been filed.