The Department of Forests and a contractor have mutually terminated works on Phase A of the Akamas National Forest Park road network improvement project, marking the sixth major construction contract to end prematurely in the past 13 months.
The contractor initiated the termination on December 23, 2024, followed by the Department of Forests issuing a notice of termination on January 4, 2025, officials said.
Agriculture Minister Maria Panayiotou told the parliamentary Environment Committee that new works are expected to begin before summer.
“The Department is already preparing for the next phase and aims to restart works as soon as the legal procedures for new contracts are completed”, she said.
The termination follows five other major project cancellations since December 2023, including the Pentakomo waste management facility, Larnaca port and marina project, Vasiliko natural gas terminal, Paphos-Polis motorway, and the Liopetri River project.
Unlike previous terminations, both parties appear willing to resolve their differences. The Department and the contractor are working with the Law Office to complete the works, which are already running about a year behind the cabinet-approved schedule.
Final construction plans will be submitted on January 17, 2025, and an ad-hoc Environmental Impact Assessment Committee meeting is scheduled for February 3, 2025.
The committee will include experts in nature conservation, road construction, geology, hydraulic works, flora and fauna.
The minister said the revised plans will minimise wall construction, reduce road surface thickness, and reassess hydraulic works, including stability evaluation of the Lipati road.
