Lakkotrypis was addressing the annual general meeting of the Famagusta Chamber of Commerce where he gave a rundown on economic developments, especially in energy and tourism.

“For Famagusta particular, I note particularly the recent, very positive developments with respect to our plans to build marinas in Paralimni and Ayia Napa,” he said.

Lakkotyrypis said that already the government had given a €25m bank guarantee for the €220m project.

For the Paralimni marina, the tender had been launched on June 16 for the €100m project, he said.

“These are without doubt two very large tourism infrastructure projects, which will put Famagusta on the global yachting map,” he added.

The minister said he was cautiously optimistic for tourism in general, though arrivals from Russia were down, as expected, by around 18.4% in the first five months of the year. Arrivals from Germany, the UK, Israel and France had filled the gap, however, he said.

Between January and May, arrivals were up 9.6%, Lakkotrypis said, but revenue was down 4.9% for the same period.

Source: Cyprus Mail