A passenger ferry service between Cyprus Island and mainland Greece is due to open by 2020's summer, MPs heard on Tuesday, July 9. According to island's deputy minister for shipping, Natasa Pilides, the feasibility study for Cyprus-Greece ferry link had been completed while approval for the state subsidy was pending. It was not established which Greece mainland port would serve as the connection point.
After the subsidy was agreed on, a tender competition will be announced in order to find a suitable business to assume the new project. Pilides said that the state would subsidize the ferry service but not the commercial aspects of the business. The aim is to have the service established prior summer 2020 season.
According to Natasa Pilides, the ferry price will be cheaper than the domestic flights. Port Limassol will most probably be the homeport from where the 30-hour ferry crossings to Greece will start, while there are thoughts for an intermediate stop, like Rhodes.
The route is to be served with once per week crossings (between May-September) and once every fortnight (during winter months).