A report on the controversial roadworks in the Akamas national forest park has been handed to the members of an ad hoc committee appointed to evaluate the work, which they will evaluate later this month.

The report was drawn up by ASD Hyperstatic Engineering Design on behalf of the forestry department, and presents 16 key areas where breaches of environmental regulations and administrative shortcomings have been found in the first phase of the works.

After assessing the findings, the ad hoc committee will determine further measures. The ad hoc committee included representatives from BirdLife and Terra Cypria as well as the environmental and the forestry department.

The first directive in the report instructs the contractor to address rainwater inflow from residential developments in Peyia which had damaged the road linking the White River beach and the entrance to the Akamas national park, as well as repairing damage caused thus far by the issue.

It also calls for the repair of erosion damage by submitting alternative solutions and the removal of all retaining walls while proposing safe alternatives to stabilise the road’s inclines and boost road safety.

The also recommends that the walls in the area of Toxeftra beach be completely demolished, demanding suggestions for the installation of a suitable and environmentally friendly barrier to prevent vehicle parking and pedestrian movement near and within the beach’s sandstone formations.

The building of new walls on the beach will henceforth be completely prohibited, the report says, with exceptions only made in the case that justification is provided and deemed essential for safety. Rocky subsoil excavations for roadworks are to be capped at 25 centimetres in depth.

The report said that wildlife passages must be added to remaining walls as directed by the game service.

Additionally, it said, the water supply cable must be removed responsibly from the park, with any environmental damage to be addressed, and alternative firefighting water sources identified.

The report also stressed the need for the special protection of habitats and plants in areas within the Natura 2000 Network protected area including olive and carob forests. Furthermore, it calls for an examination of a possible removal of retaining walls on the section of road linking Toxeftra beach and the Avakas gorge.

It also calls for the implementation of construction of parts of the Lipati road from the current construction contract that had previously been decided on by cabinet. 

Finally, the report suggests that projects in the Avakas area be examined by the water development department to evaluate possible modifications in relation to the movement of eels.

According to the report, necessary measures are to be proposed within 15 days of its issuance and then submitted to the ad hoc committee for further examination.

Once the final plans have been revised and a project schedule has been set, they are to be submitted to the environmental department.

The three key roads, Aspros-Lara, Toxeftra-Avakas, and the Lara Circular Route, examined in the report must comply with the supplementary special ecological assessment (SEA) issued in March 2024. 

The first phase of the Akamas National Forest Park roadworks began in September 2023 after the forestry department had assigned a contractor to upgrade 13.4km of existing roads in the area.

However, construction lasted a mere matter of weeks before environmental groups cried foul, saying works had been carried out in violation of supposedly legally binding “precisely stipulated, non-negotiable conditions attached to the plan”.

Soon after, President Nikos Christodoulides said he was “personally annoyed” by evidence that construction work had deviated from the agreed plans, adding his voice to the cries for construction works to be halted.

Then-contractor Cyfield then announced all construction works on the road network in the Akamas peninsula would be halted until all issues were settled, while members of the House environment committee described the government as “pathetic”

In December 2023, the council of ministers intervened, halting the works and subsequently launching an investigation, commissioning a new study that supposedly ensured compliance with environmental regulations

Then-Agriculture Minister Petros Xenophontos said works had deviated from the original plan and called for an investigation into how that happened, before days later saying construction works would proceed and would not be suspended under any circumstances.

The government then terminated its contract with Cyfield in January this year.