Cyprus plans to expand its Evangelos Florakis Naval Base at Mari to accommodate more than eight large warships and support vessels from allied countries, strengthening its role as a military and operational support hub in the Eastern Mediterranean.
According to a report published on Sunday by specialist defence publication Janes, the Cyprus Ministry of Defence has commissioned a consortium of two Greek engineering consultancies, TRITON and MARNET, to carry out a year-long study into the base’s expansion.
Speaking to Janes, Captain Nikolaos Loukas of the Cyprus Navy said the main objective was to provide sufficient berthing space for more than eight large-displacement warships and auxiliary vessels belonging to friendly naval forces.
The expansion will focus on port and maritime infrastructure, with no plans at this stage to increase the base’s land area.
The study will determine the final number of berths, the size of vessels the expanded facility will be able to accommodate and the technical specifications required.
The base currently has limited capacity, primarily serving the needs of the Cyprus Navy, whose fleet consists mainly of patrol and coastal vessels.
Its largest ship, the Alasia, has a displacement of approximately 900 tonnes and measures 62 metres in length.
The planned expansion forms part of broader efforts to strengthen the Republic of Cyprus’s defence infrastructure, alongside the modernisation of the Andreas Papandreou Air Base in Paphos, which is being carried out with US assistance.
A US-funded helipad is also being developed at Mari, designed to accommodate large transport helicopters, including those used in operations to evacuate civilians from crisis areas.
The upgraded naval facilities are expected to significantly increase Cyprus’s capacity to support European and other allied forces operating in the strategically important Eastern Mediterranean.
The project remains at the planning stage, however, with its final technical specifications and construction timetable yet to be determined.
