HUNDREDS of construction jobs in Cyprus have been secured after development company staff protested delays in the country’s planning office.
The government has approved several projects submitted by Alpha Panareti following the demonstration in Paphos last week.
“We were objecting to the length of time taken to issue licences to start work on projects that have been planned for many months and that have already received approval,” said Alpha Panareti’s managing director Andreas Ioannou in a statement.
Company management had warned it could not maintain current staff levels without starting the new developments. But the firm was quick strike down suggestions that job losses were already planned.
“Alpha Panareti is not making anyone redundant and it does not have business problems beyond those of any reasonably large company at this time of worldwide crisis,” said Ioannou.
The company was also protesting proposals to stop non-Greek speaking immigrants from working in Cyprus.
“We would like to recruit more staff for the construction side of the company, but none are available with the appropriate skills to work to our company standards,” said Ioannou.
The approved projects include three mini-marinas and a solar energy system. OPP understands the firm will also be involved in a recently agreed development by Qatar’s property investment fund, Qatari Diar.
