The small European Mediterranean island state of Cyprus has got great prospects for the future.
Here are a number of stories making the news in the past few months. The property industry has great mid to long term prospects.

• In a recent press announcement, Charles D. Davidson, Noble Energy’s Chairman and CEO, said, “We are excited to announce the discovery of significant natural gas resources in Cyprus on Block 12. The gas is said to be in Block 12 of the Aphrodite Gas Field, and could be enough to power all electricity on the island for 210 years. The deep-water probe in Block 12 struck about 310 feet of natural gas pay, with gross resources estimated at between 5 trillion and 8 trillion cubic feet, with a mean figure of 7 Tcf. The country’s Commerce Minister, Praxoulla Antoniadou, was quoted as saying: “If you want an indication of the value of the gas, if you consider that 6,000 cubic feet is equal to one barrel of oil, then approximately 7 tcf is equivalent to one billion barrels, and to give an indicative value of these deposits based on the barrel analogy, the deposits in one of the 13 blocks are worth around 100 billion euro in value.” All indications are positive that in the sea of Cyprus there are more wells of gas and oil, securing the economic future and rapid development, given that the  GDP of the country is only 17 billion euro per year.
• Government Spokesman Stefanos Stefanou, recently announced that a number of companies from different parts of the world have shown an interest or have bought the results of research carried out by the Republic of Cyprus in its exclusive economic zone. Although he went on to say that he wouldn’t like to elaborate at present on which companies have expressed an interest. According to informed sources known petroleum industry giants and smaller international players have expressed interest, including, Brazil’s Petro- bras, ExxonMobil of American interests, British BP, Dutch interests firm Shell, Petronas of Malaysia and Russian Gazprom.
• The construction of an international energy terminal costing over €100 million is slated to begin within the next 60-days. The building of the terminal will be preceded by the construction of an anchorage off the coast near Vassiliko, to facilitate the unloading of equipment. According to the report, the official said around 1,000 new jobs will be created during the construction period, which will last until 2014. Continuing, many international energy companies have already applied for the leasing of storage capacity, adding that the operation of the facility will add €16billion to public assets on an annual basis.
• The Presidency of the Council of the European Union rotates among its member states every six months. During the second half of 2012 Cyprus will take over the Presidency for the first time. Despite the challenges that holding the Presidency presents, Cyprus aspires to rise to the expectations that the role entails and also to influence and assist substantially in furthering EU ideals and enhancing the profile of the Union internationally.
• Ryanair, which currently offers four routes from Larnaca airport in Cyprus,  announced on the 10th January that it would open its 50th base at Pafos in April 2012 with two based aircraft and 14 routes. Ryanair’s investment of over €140 million will initially deliver over 600,000 passengers per annum and sustain over 600 jobs with over 80 weekly flights. The 14 routes, which are already available for booking, are Patra, Chania, Frankfurt Hahn, Kaunus, Krakow, London-Stansted, Memmingen, Bergamo, Oslo, Pisa, Rome, Stockholm, Thessaloniki and Treviso. The low-cost carrier will be the first airline to take advantage of the government’s new incentives to boost tourism, which includes a substantial drop in landing fees. “This is a watershed, a turning point in aviation and tourism for Cyprus,” Michael Cawley, Ryanair’s deputy chief told a news conference in Nicosia. The Cyprus Tourism Organisation’s (CTO) head Alecos Orountiotis called it “a significant day” in Cypriot tourism. “We hope that the development with this specific airline will be the first step, and that new interest will be shown from other airlines so we have the potential to open new markets for Cypriot tourism and expand tourist traffic to the island”.
• The state investment fund of Qatar (which belong to the government of Qatar) has made it clear it will allocate EUR 2 billion in investments for the country of Cyprus (they have allocated a sum for every interesting country in the region). The first deal that they have found to invest in Cyprus (worth hundreds of millions of euro) is the joint development with the government of Cyprus for a multi-use complex in the heart of Nicosia, just opposite the Hilton hotel.
• The government has reversed previous opposition to the creation of a casino in Cyprus and now plans are underway to create the legal framework for the operation of up to 5 casinos in Cyprus. This is expected to attract investment from foreign and local  companies which are interested to exploit the proximity of Cyprus to the Middle East which holds numerous High Net Worth individuals interested in this type of entertainment. Already the owner of Las Vegas Sands casino, one of the richest people in the USA has approached the government with a view to creating a casino resort in Cyprus.

Courtesy: Pafilia Property Developers

For further information
Contact: Yianni Pavlou
Tel: ++27 31 563 9566 or ++27 82 494 4555
Email: [email protected]