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The mistakes made along the way and the poor initial study that increased the cost of the construction of the Limassol stadium, was the focus of the discussion today at the Parliament's Audit Committee regarding the cost of the construction of the new stadium and the potential waste of public money. There was controversy in the committee over whether there was a waste of public money as well as whether there was ultimately a large increase in cost compared to the original estimate.
The stadium is estimated to cost €38 million with an additional €10 million for the road network around it, with accusations focusing on the large increase from the original budget of €18 million.
Audit Office representative Marios Petridis initially said in statements that the criteria set by the CAA itself regarding the percentage of the grant had been violated and that luxuries at the stadium such as canopies in all stands would not be subsidised.
Petrides said the above and the poor initial design had exploded the cost to taxpayers and from a few million now the cost was approaching 40 million euros.
In response to a question, he said that the initial provision in the CMO's budget for the construction of the Limassol stadium was 17 million euros, then the tender was announced for 28.3 million euros and the award, in the absence of a competitive process, was made at 31.3 million euros. Based on the latest estimated values, a total cost of €34m has been approved by the CEC and is expected to rise to €38m excluding the road network which will cost around €10m.
CEC president Andreas Michaelides said the stadium was pre-estimated at €29.3m when it went out for bids and awarded at €31.3m. Beyond that, he said that the new Board of the Agency, together with the management, is in constant contact with the Audit Office and the Superintendent of State Aid, with instructions from the Presidency of the Republic and the Ministry of Education, in order to make sure that all procedures are followed so that there are no further problems.
He said, the main problems were with the initial design, while the Department of Public Works was subsequently assigned to supervise the project.
Regarding the allegations of misappropriation of public money, Mr. Michaelides said that the CTO is at the disposal of the Audit Service to do any investigation, and if there is a suspicion of misappropriation of public money, the Agency will be relentless. He noted that the cost of creating the road network was wrongly added to the cost of the project. "I am sure that in the end a jewel of a stadium will be delivered which we will be proud of," he said."
Deputy Chairman of the Audit Committee and DIKO MP Chrisis Pantelides said that on May 19, 2014, at a meeting of President Anastasiades with the then Board of Directors of the CAA, it was decided to build the new Limassol stadium, at a cost, as announced, of 15 million euros.
He added that we are in February 2022, the project is nearing completion and will cost Cypriot taxpayers a total of 48 million euros, 38 million euros for the stadium itself and 10 million euros for the road network.
"The tripling of the cost is due to the fact that this project started wrong, on the basis of a commitment by President Anastasiades on the eve of the 2014 European elections and was based on a sloppy, hasty and poor study," he said. Pantelidis said that the fact that Limassol deserves to have a new stadium does not mean that Cypriot taxpayers should have to pay more than three times its budgeted cost and that the process by which the state, in the future, will get back the money it has spent has not yet been clarified.
DISY MP Nikos Sykas in his own statements said that "nothing is more untrue" than the accusations of tripling the cost of building the stadium. He said that the reference to the initial amount of €15 million was a statement by the Government Spokesman in 2014 and misleadingly some people are comparing it with the estimated cost of completing the project. The bid for the stadium was awarded at 31.3 million two years ago and anything else being said is mischievous, he said.
Sikas said the original study was not done by the government but by the clubs and on that study an update was started to be done to arrive today, in collaboration with all parties involved, at a contract with enough changes to enable the project to be completed and delivered within the stipulated time and the newly established procedures.
"We will be watching and if there is, and if it is justified that there is a waste of public money, we will be here."
"We will be watching and if there is, and if it is justified that there is a waste of public money, we will be here. However, we should not through political approaches demonise the stadium that Limassol and all of Cyprus needs," he said, noting that apart from the GSP there is no other stadium that can decently host European matches.
AKEL MP Irini Charalambidou said that the misuse of millions of euros paid by the Cypriot taxpayer, which were made due to faulty studies and planning, is not permissible. She said the Auditor General's report is clear with AKEL having registered the issue since the last session of Parliament as there was a shoddy study that was expensive and which did not include provisions for the southern pipeline, for the rubble.
He said this shows the sloppiness with which everyone handled things and these sloppinesses amount to millions, he said, adding that 8 million was thrown away because the contractors are justifiably demanding it since they claim they had no work to do. "At last someone has to take responsibility for all these abuses, inefficiencies, lack of planning, lack of proper management of public money," he said.
EPP President Marinos Sizopoulos said the debate is being attempted in the wrong field, noting that the key element of the debate is that with any mistakes made in planning and studies, these should not lead to a diversion from the proper construction of the stadium.
He said what needs to be discussed is whether, based on the data that exists and the projects that have been done, the cost to build the stadium is justified. If the cost is not justified, he added, there shouldbe a serious investigation into who is responsible for any overruns or waste.
Sizopoulos said that if the construction of the stadium went ahead and then there were static or other problems, there would be huge issues as the stadium would accommodate 10 to 11,000 fans. "If an accident happens because of these issues then what will be the problems that will exist," he asked and noted that there should be a rational approach to things without populism.
Independent MP Andreas Themistokleous in his statements focused on the issue of the management of the stadium once it is given for use. He noted that the money that was and will be spent on the completion of the stadium will have to be recouped by the state and therefore it will have to be very well managed. He stated that management should not be given to the teams that will use it or the CIO, claiming that if management is given to the teams or the CIO the money will never be recovered.
Source: CNA
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