Tourism and business bodies in Larnaca on Thursday called for the direct intervention of President Nikos Christodoulides over continued delays to the Larnaca to Dhekelia road project, citing mounting economic impact and disruption to the area.

The Larnaca tourism board (Etap) said it was addressing the president “as a last-ditch effort to address a problem that remains unresolved despite previous assurances and contacts”, pointing to what it described as a prolonged delay with “significant negative consequences for the region and the tourism sector”.

The project began in September 2022 with an initial completion schedule of 30 months, and was due to be delivered in March 2025.

An extension of more than one year has since been granted, setting a revised completion date of the end of April 2026.

Etap said “the picture presented today in the field is not even consistent with the revised timetable”, raising concerns of further delays.

The letter referred to repeated contacts with the transport ministry, and the contractor, and said “the project remains incomplete on multiple fronts” while delays “can no longer be considered either reasonable or justified”.

It added that the consequences for the tourist area are “already serious and measurable”, with hotel businesses recording “increased cancellations” and tour operators “hesitant to conclude agreements” due to what it described as the image of a prolonged construction site damaging the area’s reputation.

The board said, “the state has already granted significant time for the completion of the project, without the corresponding result” and called for “immediate and personal” intervention from the president, alongside “a clear, binding position regarding the final completion schedule”.

Larnaca chamber of commerce (Evel) president Nakis Antoniou said the delay is creating financial strain for businesses, adding the project “should have been completed and delivered by April of last year” and that despite extensions “it is still not finished”.

He said repeated delays mean “neither hoteliers nor other businesses in the area will be able to afford the enormous nuisance”, adding that complaints from customers are increasing.

He called on the contractor to accelerate work, stating “the current situation cannot continue any longer”.

Antoniou also referred to the completed relocation of oil and gas tanks from the Larnaca seafront, remarking that attention had now shifted to the unfinished road, which “was supposed to be completed in a few months”.