Coastal protection project from Kiti to Larnaca airport frozen due to environmental risks

The project to construct breakwaters and transverse groynes along the coast from Cape Kiti to the Larnaca airport area has been temporarily halted. The Cyprus Department of Environment issued a negative assessment, citing serious and irreversible risks to coastal and marine ecosystems.

The decision is dated 14 January 2025. The document recommends that the Cyprus Public Works Department present alternative coastal protection options based on Nature-based Solutions — environmentally oriented solutions that consider biodiversity and climate change impacts.

According to the Special Environmental Report, the area under consideration includes about 10% of all sand dunes within the Natura 2000 network in Cyprus. Their damage or loss could lead to a breach of Cyprus’s obligations to the European Union.

It is noted that the project’s implementation would harm key natural elements:

• destruction of 1,603 m² of Posidonia oceanica meadows, which serve as a natural erosion barrier,
• damage to 22,486 m² of sandy seabed,
• destruction of 11,661 m² of reefs,
• loss of feeding areas for protected sea turtles Caretta caretta and Chelonia mydas, which inhabit the area year-round

Coastal engineering expert Ksenia Loizidu noted that intense coastal erosion in this area is partly linked to the existing breakwater at Pervolia, built in 1980.

According to her assessment, constructing new hard structures about 240 meters from the shore would:

• not eliminate existing erosion,
• create new zones of instability,
• increase shoreline scouring north of the intervention area.

"Sand in this area moves in a natural cycle: it is carried away in winter and returns in summer. Artificial structures will disrupt this balance," the report notes.

The Department also expressed serious concerns regarding the idea of artificially replenishing beaches with quarry sand, citing the sensitivity of the marine ecosystem.

As an alternative, softer coastal protection measures are recommended, including:

• expansion of existing stone reinforcements,
• construction of stairs for sea access,
• pile-supported piers,
• short, dense bottom groyne systems,
• reconstruction of the existing parallel breakwater.

The study area was divided into three sections:

1. from Cape Kiti to the western boundary of the natural stone coastal reinforcement in Pervolia community;
2. from this point to the Yialos Village (Cybarco) complex;
3. from the complex to the eastern boundary of the study area near Larnaca airport.

The Department of Environment emphasizes that the proposed project cannot be considered environmentally acceptable. The Public Works Department must now develop new solutions that comply with modern environmental standards and Cyprus’s nature conservation obligations.