Transport Minister Yiannis Karousos on Sunday expressed the government’s disagreement over planned increases in charges at Limassol port, saying that efforts are being made so that these will not be passed on to the consumer.

“We do not agree with this increase in charges,” Karousos said. Conditions in the contract allow the companies to up prices and there is nothing we can do except exert political pressure, he added.

He said the government will have meetings with all concerned over the coming days to prevent as much as possible the increased costs being passed on to the consumer.

He sent the message to all those in the chain of supply at the ports that everyone must do their bit so that the extra cost is not passed on.

At the same time, he said, the commercialisation of Limassol port has brought huge benefits to the country’s economy and has solved several problems that existed before.

“The service has improved, and in fact we are very close to concluding an agreement on transit trade, where thousands of containers will now use Limassol as a transit point,” he added.