500 new beds for Tepak students, marine school to open in 2027

New housing for students of the technical university (Tepak) and the opening of the marine school in Larnaca were at the centre of the House education committee meeting on Wednesday.

“We expect the projects to progress and to welcome the first students in our city in 2027,” Disy MP Prodromos Alambritis said after the meeting.

According to the plans presented to MPs, a total of 500 beds will be made available to Tepak students by 2027, in line with the opening of Tepak’s marine sciences school, which is currently being constructed in Larnaca.

The first 150 beds are set to be ready by this summer, while the remaining 350 beds will be completed in 2027.

Alambritis then went on to add that government planned for the two departments of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, which are set to open in Larnaca, to start operating in September, however adding that he not certain this would actually be possible.

“I am not sure if we will succeed,” he said.

Regarding the anticipated opening of the departments in autumn, Diko MP Andreas Apostolou said that efforts were underway to find a solution to the ongoing issue of student housing.

He stressed that he backed the proposals for a veterinary school in Athienou, as suggested by the municipality in cooperation with the University of Thessaly.

Apostolou added that the education ministry had assured him that questions regarding the construction of the facility building would be resolved in the coming weeks and that a proposal to convert the Athienou medical centre building for this purpose had been submitted to the health ministry.

Plans for the creation of the Greek university’s branches had been approved by the government in September 2025, making it the first Greek university branch to operate in Cyprus.

Government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis described the opening as a “new chapter in the academic and research landscape of the country”, suggesting that it could encourage other international universities to offer programmes on the island.

Two months later, in November 2025, the government approved the establishment of Tepak’s school of marine sciences and sustainable development.

The Larnaca Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Evel) welcomed the decision, saying it was “a long-standing request of the chamber and the local community” and “significant step for the academic and economic development of the city”.