Persistent technical problems and delays on the Paphos-Polis Chrysochous road were at the centre of a meeting of the House transport committee on Thursday.

Following the meeting, MPs said the transport ministry had failed to provide an expected completion date for the project or an estimate of its final cost.

Disy MP Nicoletta Constantinou said inspections had revealed discrepancies and the contractor had subsequently been asked to carry out remedial work.

She said, however, that the contractor disputed the inspection method stipulated in its contract with the Public Works Department.

“Unfortunately, we now have a new road surface with issues regarding evenness, sections that are closed off, delays and other problems that have arisen and are causing inconvenience to the public,” she said.

Constantinou said the specifications were clearly set out in the contract and the contractor was obliged to deliver a specific result. If the road surface failed to meet those specifications, she said, it would have to be removed and rectified.

“If the contractor disagrees, there are procedures set out in the contract,” she said.

She added that the timetable for completing the project could not take precedence over the safety and quality of a road used daily by thousands of residents who had been waiting years for the new route.

“Paphos has been waiting for years for the new Paphos-Polis road. We will not, in the meantime, accept an existing road that barely meets the requirements. Either the project is up to standard or it isn’t. If it isn’t, they must rectify it,” she said.

Akel MP Valentinos Fakontis said the project had been scheduled to take 12 months and was due to be completed in January 2026. Eight months later, he said, it was facing significant delays and quality issues.

According to Fakontis, technical problems had also emerged in relation to the feasibility study and project plans, with certain works not initially provided for.

He highlighted problems in the Tsada section, where he said there were major defects and irregularities in the road surface, as well as road safety issues.

“We call on the Public Works Department and the contractor to take the necessary measures and repair the road surface immediately, so that road safety can be restored,” he said.

Fakontis said the ministry had failed to provide a timeframe for the project’s completion or an estimate of its final cost.

He also accused the government of being unable to carry out “even small-scale projects”, describing the situation as a “cause for concern”.

“If the state apparatus cannot carry out these small projects, how will it carry out and implement the larger ones?” he said.

Diko MP Chrysanthos Savvides referred to what he described as an acknowledgement by the Public Works Department during the meeting of problems on the section of road between Mesoyia and Tsada.

“Lives are at risk. Today, at the transport committee – where we raised this as a matter of our own initiative – the public works department acknowledged the issue. This is exactly what I have been saying publicly. The road is unusable,” he said.

Savvides alleged that the contractor was refusing to carry out the necessary work and called on the Public Works Department to intervene.

“So that lives are not put at risk; because if a life is lost tomorrow, someone must take responsibility,” he said.

Savvides also questioned how subcontracts for similar projects were awarded, claiming that the process was unregulated.

“This is the harsh reality, and this is the tragic result,” he said.