Hole-in-one for golf with € 2bn to invest
NUMBER OF GOLF COURSES EXPECTED TO DOUBLE
Cyprus is set to see the number of its plush golf courses double from four to eight over the next five years at an estimated cost touching EUR 2 bln.
With four golf course projects in the pipeline over the coming years, the number of golf courses on the island will reach eight.
In the past two months, two golf projects announced that they have acquired town planning permits essentially bringing them a step closer to construction.
A government masterplan for golf tourism drafted in 2005 envisaged the creation of 14 courses across the island, but the process stuttered due to the financial crisis.
The four existing golf courses are clustered in the Paphos area, while two of the new courses are to be built in Limassol, one in Ayia Napa and the other in Polis Chrysochous (also Paphos).
Limassol will be the next town after Paphos to have a golf course built. Two big projects have received the necessary town planning permits and will move on to the construction stage once building permits are issued at a combined cost of EUR 700 mln.
Lanitis Group is going ahead with its Limassol Greens Golf Resort in Fasouri costing EUR 350 mln. It’s adjacent to the island’s first casino resort and opposite the Fasouri waterpark. It covers an area 1.4 mln square metres; the 18hole championship golf course is also to include a 1,700 sq. m. clubhouse, 495 luxury and 233 apartments. The resort will also host a series of retail and commercial facilities, including shops, restaurants and bars.
Construction is earmarked for 2019 as Lanitis Group have acquired the necessary town planning permit for the master plan and the clubhouse. The Group boasts previous experience in building golf courses as it has put its signature to a number of projects.
“Aphrodite Hills Golf Resort was constructed and developed by subsidiaries of the Group (Lanitis Development and Cybarco). Also, the Group is involved in the construction and development of Limassol Marina through Cybarco. Besides being a major shareholder, Cybarco is also the project manager and exclusive sales agent of the residential properties,” said Antonis Pappas, Communications Manager for the Lanitis Group.
To the east of Limassol, in Vassa Kellakiou, Universal Golf Enterprises, subsidiary of Universal Life Ltd, is set to offer enthusiasts another golfing option with their Limassol Hills Golf Resort. Having acquired the town planning permits, they are now expecting the construction license, so they can go ahead with the first phase which includes the golf course, the clubhouse and a water treatment plant.
The first phase should be finished within three years. Covering a total of 2 mln sq. m., the EUR 340 mln project will also include a sports centre, a conference centre, tourist village and a series of luxury villas.
Project manager Charalambos Kangas said the golf resort, just 15 minutes from hotels on the Amathus seafront, will add value to Limassol’s burgeoning tourism product.
“The natural beauty of the area combined with the terrain’s unique morphology, the panoramic view and the excellent microclimate provides the foundation for the project’s success,” said Kangas.
The most ambitious of the new schemes is the Limni Bay resort situated in Polis Chrysochous which will include two golf courses.
Cyprus Limni Resorts and Golf Courses PLC, subsidiaries of the Shacolas-CTC Group, is planning to build two “stateof-the-art 18-hole golf courses designed by legends Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player”. Each golf course is to have its own clubhouse, while plans include the building of a five-star hotel and a shopping arcade and retail area.
With the project set to be completed within 3-5 years, Cyprus Limni Resorts and Golf Courses Plc, owner and developer of the ambitious Limni Bay complex, has had launch delays due to red tape and a row over environmental permits.
“Following the dispute over the project’s environmental
impact study, it has been given the green light by the European Commission and we are now awaiting the approval of the final permits”, said Pavlos Pavlou, spokesperson for CTC Group.
The grand project was estimated to have cost EUR 1.5 bln with plans including a small airport when announced by CEO Nicos Shacolas in 2013.
However, streamlined plans today do not include an airport, and the investment is believed to be roughly EUR 800 mln.
Ayia Napa
Meanwhile, the Famagusta region is striving to get its own golf course, as a consortium of local hoteliers known as Ayia Napa Forest Golf Ltd are expecting the approval of the relevant town planning and building permits.
According to the consortium, construction is set to begin in 2019 and the first phase is scheduled for completion in 2021.
The first phase will see the construction of the golf course, a clubhouse, tourism and commercial development and 100 villas. The second phase will include another 188 villas and a five-star hotel which will commence in 2021-22 and take five years to complete, with the entire project costing some EUR 140 mln.
Just like the Limni Bay project, Ayia Napa Forest Golf has also encountered red tape and environmental challenges. The project, to be built on an area of 1.037 mln sq.m., is made up of 56.86% leased forest land, 13.44% leased state land and 29.7% private land. This has angered environmentalists, amongst them the Cyprus Greens Party.
Environmentalists fear that irreversible damage will be caused to wildlife habitats. A cabinet decision in 2014, granted developers the use of the land for 33 years, restricting them to only building the golf course and the necessary facilities for its operation.
Currently, the Ministry of Agriculture and parliament are looking into the consortium’s environmental impact studies, even though they had been given the green light from the European Commission.
Christos Kitazos, talking on behalf of the consortium, said that the group of hoteliers were given the land prior to a Natura 2000 plan being drawn up, and they took into consideration the wild life habitats in the area.
On the importance of the project itself, he said the plan was to put the region on the golfing map, as the golf course will be world class and, in a position, to hold top tournaments.
Ayia Napa mayor Yiannis Karousos told the Financial Mirror that the project is vital for keeping tourism alive throughout the year and attracting big-spending golfers.
“The golf course will go a long way in helping to keep our hotels open during the low season as golf players prefer to play the game in autumn, winter and spring,” said Karousos.
Importance of golf
Maro Kazepi, coordinator for golf tourism at the Cyprus Tourism Organisation said: “Golf tourism contributes towards the enrichment and diversification of the tourist product, the attraction of winter tourism, increase in revenues and the strengthening of the competitiveness of the island as a tourist destination”.
She said that promoting golf tourism is one of the CTO’s top priorities.
“Golf tourism is one of the growing sectors in Cyprus and will contribute towards adding value to the island’s tourist product and drawing in more income for the island’s economy as a whole”.
The CTO official said that the ultimate aim is to establish Cyprus on the world map as an attractive golfing destination to attract tourists, golf pros, as well as hosting international tournaments.
The importance of having more courses was underlined by a golfing expert who told the Financial Mirror that for Cyprus to be a serious destination for golfers it needs to have at least six or seven courses rather than the four it has now.
“Golf tourists like to play different courses every day during a trip, and they like them in a cluster, so at least six or seven courses would be ideal for Cyprus,” the expert said.
He noted that as there is stiff competition from Spain, Portugal and Turkey, Cyprus has to sell itself as a total package.
The quality of local courses is deemed to be of an “excellent” standard having their own character which makes them popular with golfers.
“Cyprus needs to sell itself as a total package, not just to play golf, because there is stiff competition from Spain, Portugal and Turkey,” said the expert.
Rounds of golf being played in Cyprus is on the increase and introducing more courses to play on is seen as the best way of attracting more golfers to visit.