A coastal path, including a 400m-long footbridge over the sea, is to be completed within a month, Lapta Mayor Fuat Namsoy vowed last week following a series of setbacks.
He told Cyprus Today that a walkway was now being laid across pylons constructed for the raised section of the 3km path, the “most interesting part” of the route, first announced in 2015. “There were some delays during construction due to different reasons but we have finally reached the end of the road on this project,” Mr Namsoy said. “We are aiming to open the [extended] Lapta coastal path in about a month from now.”
Once complete, the trail will connect Karşıyaka to Lapta’s hotel strip. The first phase of construction, running east from the Lapta-Karşıyaka border at an area opposite the Hoş-Beş supermarket towards Sunny beach, was built by Aşan construction and cost nearly one million euros.
It was partially funded by the European Union as part of its package of support for Turkish Cypriots and was formally opened in March 2014. The tranche of work was halted, however, after Aşan construction was unable to meet its contractual obligations forcing Lapta Municpality to issue a new tender, won by Tarmac, which must complete the second phase of the project “by the end of the year,” Mr Namsoy said.
By Kerem Hasan for Cyprus Today
