The passenger maritime link between Cyprus and Greece is expected to take shape in the coming months as a number of operators have submitted a tender through the e-Procurement System of the Treasury of the Republic of Cyprus, the Shipping Deputy Ministry announced.

The deadline for submission of tenders, which was announced on 25 November 2021, expired today at noon and more than one operators have shown interest, Shipping Deputy Minister Vassilis Demetriades told CNA.

Demetriades expressed his satisfaction, noting that "we are not celebrating, but we consider this as an important step before the last one, which is the evaluation and the award of the tender."

"The great and painstaking effort we have made as a Deputy Ministry team has paid off, as we managed to attract the interest of economic operators for a tender whose peculiarities made the project very difficult," he added.

He attributed the attraction of carriers’ interest to the renegotiation of the terms with the European Commission and the redrafting of the tender document.

Early next week, he stressed, the submitted tenders will be put before the Evaluation Committee, appointed in accordance with the provisions of the relevant legislation, with a view to awarding the tender as soon as possible.

The award is expected to be decided in late February to early March and according to the Shipping Deputy Minister, maritime passenger transport will start either in April or May.

It is noted that it is up to the selected carrier whether the port of Limassol or Larnaca will be used.