The recent developments in Israel and the tense situation in the Middle East at large have caused significant concern among the business community in Limassol, with the President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EVEL), Andreas Tsouloftas, sounding the alarm for a potential deep recession.
An escalation in the Middle East region is bound to affect Cyprus, especially the city of Limassol, which has seen restrained investment flow in recent months, and the business community is “on edge,” as Tsouloftas remarked speaking to Phileleftheros.
Asked to comment on the current situation in the city, he stated that a recession is evident, influenced by wars, fuel price hikes, raw material costs, and other goods. “There is a continuation of the investment trend; however, it is very restrained, and this concerns us,” he said, highlighting that the recession is beginning to manifest in the construction industry.
Some ongoing projects are being completed, but we see fewer new ones starting. “We hope that this situation will be temporary as it affects our economy and particularly Limassol.”
Further escalation will have massive ripple effects and will impact the tourism industry even more, while the initial signs are already being observed in the construction sector.
“We see that demand for primary materials like cement and iron has decreased due to restrained large projects, and at the same time, investors have postponed the start of projects that have been planned until they see what will happen,” he asserted, emphasizing that by the end of the year, the impacts and the direction we are heading will become clearer.
