Nicosia mayor Charalambos Prountzos on Tuesday called on the state to expropriate Turkish Cypriot buildings that are in bad shape, in a move that would revitalise the old part of town and grow building stock.

“There is no other way,” the mayor said in remarks during a workshop organised by the Scientific and Technical Chamber Etek.

“No sane businessman will invest millions in immovable property when you tell him that, a year from now, the lease on the building might expire.”

An estimated 300 Turkish Cypriot buildings are scattered throughout the capital, most concentrated in the old town.

According to the mayor, the aim is to renovate those that have fallen into disrepair, some of them on the verge of collapse.

Currently, property belonging to Turkish Cypriots located in the south is under the ‘care’ of the Custodian of Turkish Cypriot Properties – effectively the interior ministry.

They have been placed under the government’s ‘custody’ until a political settlement of the island’s division.

Asked later whether his proposal might impact the legal status of these properties, Prountzos told the Cyprus Mail he does not foresee problems regarding this aspect.

“All properties in the Republic, be they Greek Cypriot or Turkish properties, may be expropriated if it is in the public interest,” he said.

Those buildings that are expropriated and restored could be given to either individuals or businesses on long-term leases, given that the cost of the investment is considerable – meaning it would take time to recover the cost of such investment.

The thinking is to increase the stock of commercial properties and buildings used for accommodation, breathing life into the city.

Responding to a follow-up question, Prountzos clarified he does not mean expropriating all Turkish Cypriot properties in Nicosia; rather, this would be done on case-by-case basis.

The move would require coordination with the interior ministry.

As of now, the municipality is ‘mapping out’ the stock of Turkish Cypriot properties in the capital.

Elsewhere in his comments, the mayor called for taxing idle immovable property.

He also said the city centre is withering away, citing as an example that no major supermarkets are located there.

Nicosia as a whole, he noted, has a population of approximately 300,000 – of which 250,000 live within a radius of less than 12km.

In the historic centre, the majority of residents are aged over 50. In addition, said the mayor, over the last few years the population in the city centre has declined from 11,000 to 3,000.