More Than 10,000 Homes and Apartments to Be Built in Cyprus Over Three Years: Details from the Interior Minister

Cyprus Interior Minister Konstantinos Ioannou said at a meeting with the parliamentary Refugee Committee that the island’s housing stock will be expanded by more than 10,000 new homes and apartments over the next three years. The expected construction boom covers both state social programs and commercial projects launched thanks to government incentives.

Results of urban planning incentives and affordable housing:
One of the key factors behind the market’s activation was the increase in the permitted building coefficient to 45%. Under this government initiative, the following figures have been recorded:
— 47 major applications were submitted by developers, equivalent to the construction of more than 2,500 housing units. Of these, at least 400 properties will be delivered at fixed affordable prices.
— Construction companies that refused to allocate square meters for social quotas paid monetary compensation for using the additional building coefficient. As a result, the fund of the Cyprus Land Development Organization (ΚΟΑΓ) was replenished by 17 million euros.
— The funds received will be used by ΚΟΑΓ for the direct construction of 441 affordable housing units.

Impact of the fast-track licensing program:
The bulk of the new housing will be delivered through streamlined bureaucratic procedures. According to the Interior Minister, under the accelerated permit issuance program, by May of this year projects had been approved for the construction of:
— About 3,000 single-family private homes.
— 930 apartment buildings.

Konstantinos Ioannou clarified that, with an average capacity of 10 apartments per apartment building (with the permitted maximum of up to 20 units), this sector will add around 9,300 apartments to the market. Combined with the private housing segment, the scheme’s potential exceeds 12,000 units. According to the minister, the actual commissioning timeline will depend on commercial developers, but strong market demand guarantees the swift progress of construction works.