The tender for the creation and operation of the Science and Technology Park in Pentakomo will be announced by the Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry no later than June, stated the responsible Minister, Mr. George Papanastasiou, to “Entrepreneurial Limassol.” The Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry mentioned that the Ministry, with the assistance of external consultants, has prepared the terms of reference for the project, as well as the guide with the terms under which the relevant tender will be announced. He added that the terms include various options for implementing the Technology Park in Pentakomo.
Mr. Papanastasiou emphasized that the land in Pentakomo was expropriated for specific purposes and that the Ministry does not wish for the project to result merely in land purchase or real estate development. “On the contrary, the Technology Park must essentially include research and innovation centers, as well as data centers,” he stressed. He also said that the tender, which will be announced no later than June, will provide an opportunity to determine the level of investor interest.
As part of the revision of the incentive package to find a Strategic Investor, the Ministry had previously announced a tender for the assignment of consulting services, with the aim of supporting the Contracting Authority in conducting the competitive process. This project was awarded to PwC. Prior to this, an initiative by the Limassol Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) had taken place, which on November 3, 2023, submitted a proposal for a new business model based on which the project in Pentakomo should be re-tendered. The proposed model was forwarded to the Consulting Firm to assess whether the incentives included could be adopted.
The President of LCCI, Mr. Andreas Tsouloftas, stated to “Entrepreneurial Limassol” that there is a noticeable delay and procrastination regarding the re-announcement of the tender. He also expressed complaints about the lack of information from the Ministry to the Chamber and requested that the timelines be made public. Mr. Tsouloftas mentioned that the matter will be raised during the visit of the President of the Republic, Mr. Nikos Christodoulides, to Limassol on May 17, where projects and issues conveyed to the government by local bodies and authorities will be discussed, on the initiative by the Chamber.
The President of the Chamber has previously described the Chamber’s proposal as well-documented and expressed confidence that there is strong investor interest in the project, noting that there is a lack of sufficient space to accommodate the large number of technology companies establishing themselves in Cyprus. As is well known, the issue of the Technology Park in Pentakomo has been discussed for more than twenty years, while the previous tender had failed to attract investor interest.
Following this development, the Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry conducted a public consultation on the matter, the content of which was presented in collaboration with LCCI on January 25, 2023.
