The Cypriot government has revoked the concession for the modernisation and management of the port and marina of Larnaca which has a duration of 40 years and which was awarded in the 2020 to Kition Ocean Holdings, a joint venture between Cypriot companies Prosperity Group and REM International. Previously the stopover port, which is the second largest in the nation after Limassol and is active in both the freight and cruises, operated by the Port Authority of Cyprus. The agreement with the government, which entered into force at April 2022, includes the assignment to Kition, for the duration of the 125 years old, management, development and sale of hotel and tourist activities.

Announcing today the revocation of the concession, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Transport, Communications and Public Works explained that The decision was taken on the basis of the of the €1.2 billion investment planned for the development of of the port and which was taken on the basis of the opinion of the legal service and on the basis of a breach of a clause of the contract due to non-renewal of the warranty which Kition was supposed to carry out earlier this year.

The Minister of Transport, Alexis Vafeadis, specified that The guarantee in question, amounting to EUR 8 million, is one of the three provided for in the contract and relates to the operation and maintenance activities. Vafeadis has announced whereas the management of the port has been reassigned to Cyprus Ports Authority and State Authorities, without any interruption of the operation of the airport. The minister pointed out and the port development project, which is one of the most ongoing investments in Cyprus, will be continued with alternative modes.

If in recent days Kition Ocean Holdings had complained that the government was putting obstacles in the way of the progress of the project, and therefore of investments, today the minister said whereas the Kition had been convened for today in order to discuss the gradual transfer of the management of the port to the State, meeting the which the company did not show up.