More New Golf Courses for Cyprus

The Cyprus Governement has opened he door for the creation of the first golf course in the Famagusta area following a Cabinet decision on Wednesday.

The government will lease land o a consortium calling itself Ayia Napa Forest Golf Ltd at an annual cost of 60,000 Cyprus pounds. This figure will be revised every five years.

The term of the lease is for a period of 33 years, but the consortium will have the option o twice extend it for an additional 25 years each time.

They are believed to want to start construction within the next few years after securing he relevant planning permits.

According to Phileleftheros newspaper, shareholders in the project will include hoteliers in the area, as well as Ayia Napa Municipality.

The land, in the area of Cape Greco, amounts to 429 donums.

The Green party, however, is up in arms over the government’s decision, saying the land allocated is part of Natura 2000, an ecological network in he territory of the European Union.

“There is a reason why the land is part of Natura 2000 and that is to protect the biodiversity within it, in order to keep our environmental heritage for generations to come,” assistant press officer Efi Xanthou told he Mail.

“Nobody should build anything within the area but it is in effect government property.

The decision to lease out such a huge amount of land is appalling and we will not lie down and accept it and will be lobbying he European Commission to stop it.”

The Ministry of Agriculture, however, has judged that the area in question does not require protection and has been in touch with the European authorities.

According to Xanthi, part of the agreement stipulates that the building of hotels and apartments on the land is forbidden, “but the consortium is not stipulating any sort of environmental protection.”

She added that the grass would destroy the natural habitat, “as it takes over and stops anything else from growing. Chemicals used on the grass will also pose a hazard to wildlife and the underground water supply. Additionally, a huge amount of water will be needed and there is no plan in place on how to get it. I suspect they’ll ask for a desalination permit but his will only emit a huge amount of carbon dioxide.”

The government has decided that no more than 14 golf courses should exist on the island. There are currently three, all in the Paphos area.