The government urged the Limassol mayors to return to the negotiations table with the exact cost of construction of the conference centre and ensured that it will support them.

After a meeting at the Commerce Ministry with the participation of the CTO and the mayors of greater Limassol, Finance Minister, Charilaos Stavrakis clarified that cost estimate and the plans will be submitted to the Council of Ministers so as to take the final decision.

He also stressed that the project is not connected with the undertaking of the rotation European Presidency by Cyprus in 2012 and expressed his doubts on whether this could be ready on time.

“It is not related neither to the conference centre in Nicosia nor to those that will be constructed to other cities”, he said.

Commerce Minister, Antonis Paschalides said that the prospects for conference tourism in Limassol are good and expressed his will to support the project.

On the other hand, Limassol Mayor, Andreas Christou expressed his satisfaction for the Ministers’ intention to support the effort.

Mr. Christou committed on behalf of all mayors in greater Limassol to prepare supplementary studies that will be submitted before the Council of Ministers.

The project, which will be constructed via the BOT method, stands at €40 million.

“The government will acquire the land which will be leased to the investor. The conference centre will be built by the investor and will be managed by him for a few years. The project will enrich the city’s tourist industry”, Mr. Christou concluded.