The sole bid submitted in the tender, which was announced on 10 March 2026, for the supply and maintenance of 17 single-cabin vehicles equipped with an autonomous fire-extinguishing system for the fire-affected communities of the district, is currently under evaluation by the Limassol District Administration.
The bid was submitted by the company SL METAL CREATIONS LTD and amounts to €704,140.
The tender includes the supply of the 17 vehicles, as well as repair and maintenance services for both the vehicles themselves and the associated equipment. The estimated value of the contract amounts to €714,000, while its duration has been set at five months.
Funding for the procurement will come from the €1.74 million raised through donations from citizens and organized groups for those affected by the fire in mountainous Limassol. The funds have been deposited in a special account at the Central Bank, created exclusively for this purpose and managed by the Accountant General of the Republic. The amount concerning the tender has already been transferred as a credit to the accounts of the Limassol District Administration.
In communication with “Entrepreneurial Limassol,” the Accountant General, Andreas Antoniades, stated that regular updates to citizens regarding the management of the funds, within the framework of transparency and accountability, will take place after the completion of the first half of the current year.
The Accountant General expressed the view that the tender may be awarded, provided that the sole bidder meets the technical specifications, clarifying that the relevant decisions are taken by the Limassol District Administration, which bears the responsibility.
The District Administration noted that the evaluation process of the bid has not yet been completed.
The remaining funds from the total amount of €1.74 million, collected from 1,469 donors, will be allocated to development projects in the affected communities.
The Commissioner for the Development of Mountain Communities, Charalambos Christofinas, stated that communities have been asked to submit their priorities. As he noted, a list of community requests has already been compiled, and a meeting is expected to determine whether these fall within the purposes for which the funds were granted.
He explained that, given that these are donations from citizens with a specific purpose, the projects to be funded must be consistent with that purpose and cannot be selected arbitrarily by the communities. Indicatively, he referred to projects related to the protection or maintenance of infrastructure damaged by the fire.
As he pointed out, only one community has yet to submit its requests, while in some cases resubmission of proposals was requested, as the initial ones could not be implemented.
The Commissioner noted that there is satisfaction among the communities regarding the allocation, which is based on evaluative criteria related to the extent of the damage.
Upon completion of the collection of all requests, a joint meeting with the General Accounting Office will take place in order to take final decisions and initiate the disbursement of funds. At the same time, checks will be carried out to ensure the proper use of the funds.
With regard to state support schemes for those affected by the fire, the total amount has been set at €57.3 million. According to the latest update from the General Accounting Office, the implementation rate stands at 36%, meaning that €20.7 million has already been spent. The time horizon for completion of the schemes is estimated at two to three years.
