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Basic Rationale for Airport BOT Projects in Cyprus

Demetris Savvides

DOI https://doi.org/10.21552/epppl/2024/1/6

Keywords: Airport Infrastructure service delivery, PPPs, Value for Money, BOT Project financing, Corruption


Public-private partnerships (PPPs) have emerged as a strategic tool for enhancing the economic growth of International Airport infrastructure and service delivery markets in Cyprus. Although different types of PPPs exist worldwide and are likely to influence how road projects are implemented, this has not been fully researched in Cyprus. This study investigates how various aspects of PPPs can influence the implementation of International Airport infrastructure development in the Republic of Cyprus. It combined qualitative and quantitative approaches using a cross-sectional design. Secondary data was complimented with primary data collected from 63 purposively sampled respondents. The study established that PPP international airport projects in Cyprus have particularly utilised the Build, operate, transfer (BOT) model. As the existing publicly owned airports were not considered to be financially viable or sustainable at the beginning of the century, it became evident that these government functions could not be socio-economically or otherwise justified. For this reason, the involvement of the private sector in the operation of publicly owned and administered airports was fully endorsed by both the government and the local society at large. The form of private participation to be selected rightly depended on the risk/decision making power that the government apparatus was prepared to transfer to the private sector and the financial viability of the airport as a sustainable business. To have defensible, sustainable, and resilient Airport BOT Projects in Cyprus, the regulatory model of frameworks should be changed into a community model to develop sustainable projects, as opposed to the market or statist model that favours or prioritise private partners and government interests respectively. Though it may seem difficult to create a line of responsibility, it is possible to set an established way to collaborate and cooperate on particular BOT contract projects. Keywords: Airport Infrastructure service delivery; PPPs; Value for Money; BOT Project financing; Corruption

Demetrakis S. Savvides is a Research Fellow and Lecturer of company law and business taxation at the European Institute of Management and Finance (EIMF) in Cyprus. He is also practicing legal Attorney mostly dealing with a range of complex issues arising from Corporate and taxation transactions, controversies, and regular business operation. His research interests in particular center on Infrastructure Development, PPP and Economic Regulation in Cyprus with scholarly work regularly published in international academic journals and media outlets.

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