MP asks how Nicosia prime real estate lost 95 per cent of its value
Akel MP Irini Charalambides has written to the interior minister wanting to know why a piece of prime-location land in Nicosia has lost over 95 per cent of the value assigned to it around nine years ago amid discussions with Qatar, which was contemplating investing in a major project.
In a letter to the minister, the MP said that the land, located across from the Landmark Hotel (former Hilton) in Nicosia, was currently valued at €5 million – according to the values recently published by the land registry – a far-cry from the €145m price-tag attached by the department around nine years ago.
Charalambides suggested that the price-tag had caused the collapse of the deal at the time, costing millions in lost investment and a large number of jobs.
The Akel MP asked whether the ministry planned to launch a probe into how the value was calculated at the time.
“At the same time, we want to know if the piece of land in question is in the process of being sold, at what price, and to whom?” she said.
At the time, the land registry had valued the land, which used to house army barracks, at €145m while a private land surveyor hired by the state put it at €135m.
The Demetris Christofias government was contemplating offering the land at €50m, arguing that Cyprus could pocket any profits above the reference price the Qataris believe the completed real estate could sell for.
The much-touted €500m endeavour, which included a visit to Nicosia by the former emir of Qatar, Sheik Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, envisioned a 5-star hotel, luxury residential villas and apartments, retail space and office buildings.
It effectively fell through a couple of years later as the Qataris asked for the revaluation of the agreement to become “more viable and efficient”.
An international agency appointed by Qatar evaluated the land at €32m
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