The foundation stone for the government’s first affordable housing complex was laid on Monday in Ayios Nicolaos, Limassol, with President Nikos Christodoulides saying he was “particularly pleased” that government policy was delivering results.

“I am particularly pleased that the government’s responsible economic policy is bringing tangible results, and the very specific tangible result is the reactivation of the Cyprus land development corporation (Koag) after three years,” Christodoulides said, adding that this was the reason he attended Monday’s ceremony.

“This is why we are here today. Not only is the state providing financial support, but by granting executive powers to Koag there are currently around 1,000 housing units in preparation across Cyprus,” he said.

Christodoulides described the project as proof of the government’s political will to address a significant social challenge.

Laying the foundation stone, he said was “tangible proof of the political will of our government to invest in infrastructure that provides substantial solutions to the needs of our fellow citizens and, in particular, to the needs of young people.”

The apartments in the complex will be rented out to eligible applicants.

The project consists of four six-storey buildings offering apartments of one to four bedrooms. It is being implemented through a land-exchange arrangement on a municipal plot, with rents set below current market rates in Limassol.

Christodoulides said the project will be implemented in two phases, with final completion scheduled for 2030.

The project’s total cost comes to €26 million, of which €16 comes from a state grant and the remainder from Koag itself. The land plot is valued at €8.7 million.

The president was keen to stress that it was under his administration that Koag was ‘reactivated’ after falling idle for a period of three years.

The corporation used to be chiefly funded from the proceeds of the citizenship-by-investment programme, now defunct after it was shut down in late 2020.

Koag is a public-law entity established in 1980. Its mission is to acquire and hold land for the purpose of providing housing to people on low incomes.

Christodoulides noted that members of the public approached him on Monday, asking that his government consider the option of hire-purchase – where a person leases a property for a specific period and at a particular rent, with the right to buy the property if the provisions of the contract are met.

The president said they’d look into it.

Last week, Koag general director Eleni Symeonidou said the wider programme comprises 439 units, with construction already underway on 181 of them. The largest development is in Ayios Nicolaos, where 138 rental apartments are planned.

Applications will be submitted exclusively through Koag’s new website and only after construction begins on each project, a process intended to ensure final costs are confirmed and accurately reflected for prospective applicants.