The contractor building the Nicosia Ring Road has requested a staggering extension of 6,363 calendar days, equivalent to 17.5 years, according to an official announcement by the Cypriot Ministry of Transport.
The confirmation comes on the heels of a Phileleftheros report, which brought the issue to light.
While the ministry’s statement did not disclose the reasons behind such a lengthy extension request, it did confirm that the contractor had submitted multiple requests totalling 6,363 days. However, the project engineer and relevant committees have scrutinised these requests, resulting in a far more modest extension being granted.
“The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works announces that the contractor’s requests have been thoroughly reviewed,” the statement read. “An extension until 16 June 2024, accounting for approximately 15 months from the initial deadline, has been approved as the final project delivery date.”
The ministry attributed this delay, in part, to the COVID-19 pandemic and adverse weather conditions, amounting to around five months.
Phileleftheros had previously obtained a note from the Public Works Department, detailing the contractor’s requests and the subsequent assessments.
The department’s engineer deemed the demands unrealistic and recommended almost wholesale rejections, as evidenced by a table attached to the note presented to technical and central committees for changes and claims.
When approached for comment, the contractor, Kyriakos Chrysoschoos, downplayed the 17.5-year figure, assuring that the matter of the delivery timeline had been resolved. “The time we requested is reasonable, and it has been approved. The Ring Road will be completed very soon.”
He noted that the project would be completed before the summer and described the allegations of a 17.5-year delay request as “a joke.”
Both Chrysoschoos and the Minister of Transport, Alexis Vafeades, have provided assurances that the project will be delivered by summer 2024.
With the granted extension, the Nicosia Ring Road is now expected to be completed by 16 June.
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