Stepping up efforts to stem building orgy in the north
 

THE FOREIGN Ministry is deploying all its resources on the island and abroad in a bid to halt the development of Greek Cypriot properties in the north, in the hopes of nipping these transactions in the bud before they get out of control.
A classified memo prepared by the ministry lists a number of means – judicial and otherwise – which the government plans to use starting immediately. One of the less secret measures proposed in the document was urging more countries, especially in the European Union, to issue advisories cautioning their citizens that buying property in the north could mean endless legal wrangling.

The government has already made representations to the following countries to issue the advisories: Russia, Britain, United States, Austria, France, Australia and Canada.

After recapping recent developments, the memo said that some 3,000 sales of land to foreign nationals have taken place in the past two years alone; this figure by far exceeded the transactions recorded for the entire period 1974 to 2003.

The memo was circulated to deputies at a closed-doors session of the House Commerce Committee this week. Given the well-documented construction boom in the breakaway regime, it was decided to set up a standing sub-committee specifically to monitor the situation.

The committee, chaired by DISY deputy Lefteris Christophorou, is to convene once a week at least. It includes deputies from AKEL, DIKO and EDEK.

“We shall be keeping a very close eye on things from now on,” Christophorou told the Cyprus Mail.

According to Christophorou, the committee has learned that the legal measures taken by Greek Cypriots, with the issuing of European arrest warrants, have started to pay off. Information from the Foreign Ministry suggests that in the past few months approximately 50 per cent of transactions of Greek Cypriot property in the north have been put on hold as a direct result of these actions.

The ministry’s memo contained a string of other legal/political measures that were being kept secret for obvious reasons, added the deputy.

On Tuesday, the House Commerce Committee heard that, given the complexities of dealing with European buyers, authorities in the north were now turning to Israel and Arab countries. Recently the ‘TRNC’ held at least five expos in Gulf countries (including Bahrain and Dubai) to advertise lucrative housing deals.
The committee also discussed press reports saying that a group of Russian tour operators or travel agents visited the north last week to investigate business opportunities. They allegedly arrived via the occupied airport of Tymbou at the invitation of travel agents Western Travel, based in Famagusta.

“This has not been completely corroborated, so we need to be careful with any information we receive,” Christophorou said.

According to the same reports, originating from the Turkish Cypriot press, authorities in the north are looking at targeting the Russian market, hoping to bring in tourists with direct flights and not via Turkey.

The political aspect aside, the government is concerned that the already sluggish tourist industry in the free areas will take a serious beating from competition in the north, following a building frenzy of hotels and apartments there.