In a few days, it will be a month since that Saturday when President Christodoulides visited the Vassiliko construction site for a friendly chat with the people from the Chinese CPP company, who had resumed welding that day for the natural gas storage infrastructure.
This followed intensive contacts between the Minister of Energy and the Chinese ambassador, and at some point with high-ranking company officials, which led to a warming of relations and the decision for the dear Chinese to return to work.
In the meantime, the issue has once again faded from the spotlight, and public opinion may believe that the storm has passed and that everything is proceeding smoothly. Unfortunately, this is not the case.
While CPP has indeed worked intensively during this period and made progress on the stalled welding and related tasks, the situation regarding the jetty, which some consider a “minor job”, remains stagnant. This is because it is not a simple repair job but a very substantial, challenging, and complex part of the overall project.
It is also the section that has caused and continues to cause, friction behind the scenes between Natural Gas Infrastructure Company (ETYFA) and CPP, as the Chinese argue that the tender terms were not clear about what the Republic of Cyprus required.
When they realised that we were requesting an “enhanced” jetty with cryogenic technology to liquefy and export natural gas, they rebelled and are now demanding tens of millions of euros more. Our side insists that the contract was clear and that CPP simply did not fully understand it.
Time will tell who is right, and whoever is wrong will have to pay a hefty price. With apologies to our superpower friend, we can only pray to Saint Habakkuk to perform another miracle and ensure that justice lies with the Cypriot side and that the arbitrator in London recognises this.
So, the jetty remains unfinished. It is unlikely to emerge from this state of inertia anytime soon because, for that to happen, CPP would have to replace the Cypriot contractor who had successfully undertaken the task of pouring incredible amounts of concrete into the sea and metal frames. CPP has terminated its collaboration with the Cypriot company but has not yet agreed with another. Who will hastily set up new infrastructure, find equipment, machinery, huge cranes, etc., to restart these specific projects? We asked but received no answer.
Fortunately, information suggests that the collaboration with the other contractor working at Vassiliko (Spanopoulos) has not been interrupted, so if the problem with the other works is resolved, the installation of the metal structures for the jetty can continue.
However, this process will take time (the arrival of 150-200 Chinese technicians is also pending, as their visas have not yet been issued, which is not the fault of the state). With certainty, this column asserts that the Chinese promise to complete the project by the end of ’24 will not be fulfilled, no matter how much goodwill they display.
And that’s not all. The process of constructing the natural gas transportation system from the jetty to the power stations of EAC and Power Energy Cyprus (PEC) is also stalled. To be precise, even the process of selecting a consultant to conduct a study and prepare tender terms for the construction works for the pipelines has not progressed. The issue of procuring consulting services had long been stuck at the Tenders Review Authority but is now stuck at the Administrative Court. A decision is pending…
In summary, the project still has a long way to go and will take a significant amount of time. We will have to make do with and spend a lot on, oil for another year or two. We can only hope that the price of Brent crude doesn’t continue to rise and hit $100 (yesterday it was $89 something), forcing Keravnos to harden his heart and extend the subsidies for much longer.
