Larnaca EOA cites backlog and glitches for permit delays

Larnaca’s EOA is running late in issuing planning and building permits, and on Friday attributed the delays to procedural issues, including the backlog of applications and glitches in the integrated information system Ippodamos.

The delays, it said, were “not due to a single factor, but to a combination of historical and procedural issues”, such as a significant number of applications requiring opinions or approvals from other government departments, which were not coming through as fast as expected.

In several cases, “the submitted applications present deficiencies or require clarifications, revised plans or additional information”, thus leading to extensive correspondence with the applicants and further delays.

The backlog at Larnaca’s EOA from authorities prior to the local administration reform was over 4,000 files form the district administration and over 1,400 from the department of town planning.

“This continues to affect processing times, as many of the applications that preceded July 1, 2024, concern complex and demanding cases, several of which are problematic,” the Larnaca EOA said.

Referring to Ippodamos, it said that, “despite the upgrades and improvements, the system has not yet become the modern digital tool required, both in terms of capabilities and speed, to effectively facilitate and simplify the examination of applications.”

Larnaca’s EOA assured the public that it was working to expedite the examination of applications.