Which maritime spatial plans exist?
There are no legally binding / formal maritime spatial plans in Cyprus yet.
A pilot plan for MSP has been developed for the coastal and marine area of Limassol (south of Cyprus).
A final draft of the National Policy Statement for Maritime Spatial Planning as per the relevant provisions of the Law 144(I)/2017 as amended has been prepared by the National MSP Committee. An official and wider public consultation according to the Maritime Spatial Planning (Public Consultation) Regulations of 2021 (P.I. 133/2021) with the relevant stakeholders and the public was initiated on 14 May 2021 and lasted 60 days. This public consultation on the draft of the National Policy Statement for MSP was completed on 14 July 2021 and the final draft (based on the results of the public consultation) of the Policy Statement was agreed/approved by the MSP Committee on 24 September 2021. The submission of the final draft of the Policy Statement to the Council of Ministers for approval is still pending.
Once the National Policy Statement has been submitted to the Council of Ministers and approved, the preparation of the Maritime Spatial Plan for the marine waters of the Republic of Cyprus will commence, and relevant public consultations will be conducted
Also, in 2015, the THAL-CHOR I project aimed at developing MSP methodology and its pilot implementation for the preparation of marine spatial plans in selected areas of Cyprus and Greece, through cooperation among the two countries. Those general objectives are pursued in the second project THAL-CHOR II (2018-2021).
MSP legislation
The MSP Bill transposing the Directive 2014/89/EU was approved by the House of Representatives on 29.9.2017 and published on the Official Gazette of the Republic on 13.10.2017 (Law 114(I) of 2017).
NATIONAL MSP AUTHORITY
The Shipping Deputy Minister to the President is the MSP competent authority, which is responsible for coordinating the necessary actions for MSP implementation.
CONTACT
Shipping Deputy Ministry
Kyriacos Aliouris
Kyllinis street, Mesa Geitonia,
4007 LIMASSOL, Cyprus
Ph.: +357 25848246
Mail: kaliouris@dms.gov.cy
Nicolas Ioannou
Kyllinis street, Mesa Geitonia,
4007 LIMASSOL, Cyprus
Ph.: +357 25804908
Mail: nioannou@dms.gov.cy